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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Pariah \Pa"ri*ah\, noun [From Tamil paraiyan, pl. paraiyar, one of the low caste, fr. parai a large drum, because they beat the drums at certain festivals.]
1. One of an aboriginal people of Southern India, regarded by the four castes of the Hindus as of very low grade. They are usually the serfs of the Sudra agriculturalists. See {Caste}. --Balfour (Cyc. of India).
2. An outcast; one despised by society.
{Pariah dog} (Zo["o]l.), a mongrel race of half-wild dogs which act as scavengers in Oriental cities.
{Pariah kite} (Zo["o]l.), a species of kite ({Milvus govinda}) which acts as a scavenger in India.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
pariah
noun: a person who is rejected (from society or home) [syn: {outcast}, {castaway}, {Ishmael}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
78 Moby Thesaurus words for "pariah": DP, Diogenes, Hieronymian, Hieronymite, Ishmael, Timon of Athens, alien, anchoress, anchorite, ascetic, bedridden invalid, case, castaway, character, cloistered monk, closet cynic, crackpot, crank, declasse, derelict, desert fathers, desert saints, displaced person, eccentric, eremite, evictee, exile, expatriate, expellee, fanatic, hermit, hermitess, hobo, homebody, invalid, isolationist, kook, leper, lone wolf, loner, marabout, maverick, meshuggenah, natural, nonconformist, nut, odd fellow, oddball, oddity, original, outcast, outcast of society, outcaste, outlaw, outsider, persona non grata, pillar saint, pillarist, queer duck, queer fish, queer specimen, rara avis, recluse, screwball, seclusionist, shut-in, social outcast, solitaire, solitary, solitudinarian, stay-at-home, stylite, tramp, type, unacceptable person, undesirable, untouchable, zealot
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |