Etymology

petalism

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Today it means: A form of ostracism among the ancient Syracusans by which they temporarily banished a citizen suspected of having dangerous influence or ambition. Full definition →

First used 17th c.Middle French petalisme ← Ancient Greek πεταλισμός
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromπεταλισμός
  2. Middle French · derived frompetalisme
  3. English todaypetalism

From Middle French petalisme, and its source, Hellenistic Ancient Greek πεταλισμός (petalismós), from πέταλον (pétalon, “leaf”) (because the ballot for banishment was written on olive leaves). By surface analysis, petal + -ism.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 17th c. A form of ostracism among the ancient Syracusans by which they temporarily banished a citizen suspected of having dangerous influence or ambition.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.