pillory
verb

- to attack or ridicule publicly

- to severely criticize someone, especially in a public way

Oxford English Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The word "pillory" comes from Old French pilori, which in turn derives from Medieval Latin pillorium. The ultimate origin is somewhat uncertain, but it's likely connected to Latin pila meaning "pillar" or "column," referring to the upright post that was central to the device's construction.

The pillory was a wooden framework with holes for securing a person's head and hands as a form of public punishment and humiliation, typically placed in a town square or market place. The word entered Middle English around the 13th century as pilorie before evolving to its modern form.

Interestingly, the device gave rise to the modern, figurative verb "pillory," meaning to attack or ridicule someone publicly, which preserves the original sense of public exposure and shame even though the physical punishment device is no longer used.

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FROM SHAME TO FAME

Some famous people from history who were pilloried in their lifetime:

- Socrates (469–399 BC) one of the founding figures of Western philosophy.
Pilloried for corrupting the youth and impiety, he was forced to drink hemlock.

- Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) now hailed as the "father of modern science."
Pilloried for supporting heliocentrism (that the Earth revolves around the Sun). He was tried by the Inquisition, forced to recant, and placed under house arrest.

- Joan of Arc (c. 1412–1431) canonized as a saint and revered as a French hero.
Pilloried for cross-dressing and claiming divine visions, she was burned at the stake.

- Charles Darwin (1809–1882) revolutionized biology and the life sciences.
Pilloried for proposing evolution by natural selection, he was mocked in the press and by the church.

- Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) now celebrated for his literary brilliance and LGBTQ+ courage.
Pilloried for homosexuality and scandalous wit, he was Imprisoned for "gross indecency."

These figures suffered not for being wrong, but for being early. Public pillorying was often the price they paid for being ahead of their time.

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

abase, abuse, admonish, assail, blacken, blame, blast, blister, call out, castigate, censure, chastise, condemn, demean, denigrate, denounce, deprecate, deride, disparage, drag through the mud, dress down, excoriate, expose to ridicule, flay, humiliate, lambaste, malign, mock, name and shame, pan, parade in disgrace, PILLORY, point the finger, publicly shame, put in the stocks, rebuke, ridicule, roast, rub their nose in it, scorch, shame, slander, smear, sneer at, stigmatize, tar and feather, upbraid, vilify

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation today, say something like:

“So many great thinkers, artists, and writers were PILLORIED in their lifetime,... I sometimes wonder if it’s almost a precondition for becoming famous.”

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THANKS to Ina for suggesting today’s OWAD.

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