English Explanatory Dictionary

scapegoat

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. In the Mosaic Day of Atonement ritual, a goat symbolically imbued with the sins of the people, and sent out alive into the wilderness while another was sacrificed.
  2. Someone unfairly blamed or punished for some failure.
verb
  1. To unfairly blame or punish someone for some failure; to make a scapegoat of.

Pronunciation

/ˈskeɪpˌɡoʊt/ /ˈskeɪpˌɡəʊt/ en-us-scapegoat.ogg en-au-scapegoat.ogg

Word forms

scapegoat scapegoats scapegoating scapegoated

Etymology

From scape + goat; coined by English biblical scholar and translator William Tyndale, interpreting Biblical Hebrew עֲזָאזֵל (“azazél”) (Leviticus 16:8, 10, 26), from an interpretation as coming from עֵז (ez, “goat”) and אוזל (ozél, “escapes”). First attested 1530. Compare English scapegrace, scapegallows.

Synonyms

sacrificial lamb escapegoat fall guy folk devil goat Joe Soap patsy scapegoat whipping boy

Related words

dupe scapegoatable scapegoater scapegoating scapegoatism blame Canada blameshift escape look for a dog to kick sacrificial lamb

Derived words

scapegoatish
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