pariah

Meaning

Noun

• A person who is rejected from society or home; an outcast.
• A demographic group, species, or community that is generally despised.
• Someone in exile.
• A member of one of the oppressed social castes in India.

Origin

• From Tamil பறையர், from பறையன், from பறை or from Malayalam പറയർ, from പറയൻ, from പറ. Parai in Tamil or Para in Malayalam refers to a type of large drum designed to announce the king’s notices to the public. The people who made a living using the parai were called paraiyar; in the caste-based society they were in the lower strata, hence the derisive paraiah and pariah.