ostracize (English)

Where does "ostracize" come from?

The English verb 'ostracize' comes from the Ancient Greek verb 'ὀστρακίζω', meaning 'to banish from a city by ostracism'[1]. This Greek verb stems from 'ὄστρακον', meaning 'earthenware vessel' or 'fragment of such a vessel, potsherd', reflecting the historical practice where citizens inscribed the names of people to be banished onto broken pieces of pottery during voting[1]. The suffix '-ῐ́ζω' completes the formation[1], and the English word is also cognate with the French 'ostraciser'[1].

Open questions

• The ancient Greek word 'ὄστρακον' is traditionally linked to 'bone' and 'oyster', though some scholars consider it to be of Pre-Greek origin. [2]

Full etymology tree

• ostracize (English), 'To ban a person from a city for five or ten years through the procedure of ostracism.'
  • derived ὀστρακίζω (ostrakízō) (Ancient Greek)
    • derived ὄστρακον (óstrakon) (Ancient Greek), 'earthen vessel'
  • suffix -ίζω (-ízo) (Ancient Greek), 'Used to form similative verbs from nouns, adjectives and other verbs.'

Cognates and doublets

• ostraciser (French)

Descendants and derived words

• ostracisable (English)
• ostracisation (English)
• ostracised (English)
• ostracised (English)
• ostraciser (English)
• ostracising (English)
• ostracizable (English)
• ostracization (English)
• ostracized (English)
• ostracized (English)
• ostracizer (English)
• ostracizing (English)

Sources

1. ostracize (English) - Wiktionary
2. ὄστρακον (óstrakon) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris