Word of the Day for Friday, August 10, 2012

pillory \PIL-uh-ree\, verb:
1. To expose to public derision, ridicule, or abuse.
2. To set in the pillory.

Nawal El Saadawi has been pilloried, censored, imprisoned and exiled for her refusal to accept the oppressions imposed on women by gender and class.
-- Nawāl Saʻdāwī, "A Daughter of Isis"

Since Nixon, US Presidents had tended to be pilloried for misdemeanours.
-- John Gubert, "The Financial Terrorist"

Pillory comes from the Latin word pillar. It was first used as a verb in the 1600s.


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