Meanings
- historicaluncountableAncient GreeceThe practice of expelling foreigners in Doric Crete and Lacedaemonia.
Le Roi was in London, cook to a gambling house, while the Baron Squrzenstern Von Hairontuft, had been warned off the premises by a process nearly allied to the Spartan "Xenelasy," so Desmond was left alone.
1853, chapter III, in Passion and Pedantry, […], volume I, London: Thomas Cautley Newby, […], →OCLC, pages 39–404 more examples
The old discipline and the public mess (as far as the rich were concerned) had degenerated into mere forms—a numerous body of strangers or non-citizens (the old xenêlasy, or prohibition of resident strangers, being long discontinued) were domiciled in the town, forming a powerful moneyed interest; […]
1846, George Grote, “Laws and Discipline of Lykurgus at Sparta”, in History of Greece, volume II, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, part II (Historical Greece), pages 537–538For the effect produced at Sparta by their institution of Xenelasy,—the prohibiting the residence of foreigners—is produced at Crete by the isolation their insular position brings with it. 'Their distance is equivalent to xenelasy.'
Politikōn B
1855, Richard Congreve, “Πολιτικων Β [Politikōn B]”, in Aristotle, ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΕΛΟΥΣ ΤΑ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΑ [Aristotelous ta Politika]: The Politics of Aristotle […], London: John W[illiam] Parker and Son […], →OCLC, footnote 15, page 93, column 1Where no actual prohibition exists, the conditions on which foreigners are admitted are sometimes so onerous as practically to exclude them. […] There is indeed little difference between the restrictive laws of modern European and American policy and the rude xenelasy of the Spartans, or the selfcomplacent exclusive system of the Chinese.
1863, William Edward Hearn, “Of the Circumstances which Determine the Extent of Exchange”, in Plutology: Or The Theory of Efforts to Satisfy Human Wants, Melbourne, Vic.: George Robertson, […], →OCLC, § 4, pages 261–262Massive expulsion of (enemy) aliens—xenelasy—has often occurred in the past, e.g., by France on the outbreak of the Franco-German war of 1870, by Turkey on the occasion of her wars with Greece in 1897 and with Italy in 1911[…].
1972, J[an] H[endrik] W[illem] Verzijl, “The Law Relating to Aliens”, in International Law in Historical Perspective, part V (Nationality and Other Matters Relating to Individuals), Leiden, South Holland: A[lbertus] W[illem] Sijthoff, →ISBN, section 2 (Admission, Sojourn and Expulsion of Aliens), page 425Synonyms: xenelasia
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe practice of expelling foreigners in Doric Crete and Lacedaemonia.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁elh₂-“to drive somewhere”
- Pre-Greek
- Ancient Greekξενηλᾰσῐ́ᾱ“expulsion of foreigners”
- Englishxenelasy
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ξενηλᾰσῐ́ᾱ (xenēlăsĭ́ā, “expulsion of foreigners”) + English -y (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting a condition, quality, or state). Ξενηλᾰσῐ́ᾱ (Xenēlăsĭ́ā) is derived from ξενηλατεῖν (xenēlateîn, “to expel a foreigner”) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns); and ξενηλατεῖν (xenēlateîn) is from ξένος (xénos, “foreigner; stranger”) (probably from Pre-Greek) + ἐλαύνω (elaúnō, “to drive, set in motion; to drive away”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁elh₂- (“to drive somewhere”)) + -ειν (-ein, suffix forming infinitives of verbs).
More words from Ancient Greek, Pre-Greek, Proto-Indo-European
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ξενηλασία
- ξενηλασία (xenēlasía)practice of expelling foreigners in Doric Crete and Lacedaemonia
Finnish ulkomaalaisten karkottaminen
- ulkomaalaisten karkottaminenpractice of expelling foreigners in Doric Crete and Lacedaemonia
French xénélasie
- xénélasiepractice of expelling foreigners in Doric Crete and Lacedaemonia
German Xenelasie
- Xenelasiepractice of expelling foreigners in Doric Crete and Lacedaemonia
Greek ξενηλασία
- ξενηλασία (xenilasía)practice of expelling foreigners in Doric Crete and Lacedaemonia
Italian xenelasia
- xenelasiapractice of expelling foreigners in Doric Crete and Lacedaemonia
Portuguese xenelasia
- xenelasiapractice of expelling foreigners in Doric Crete and Lacedaemonia
Romanian xenelasie
- xenelasiepractice of expelling foreigners in Doric Crete and Lacedaemonia
Russian ксенеласия
- ксенеласия (ksenelasija)practice of expelling foreigners in Doric Crete and Lacedaemonia
Swedish xenelasia
- xenelasiapractice of expelling foreigners in Doric Crete and Lacedaemonia
Cite this entry
xenelasy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xenelasy
“xenelasy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xenelasy. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “xenelasy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xenelasy.
Source: xenelasy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.