ostracon

American

[os-truh-kon] / ˈɒs trəˌkɒn /

Or ostrakon

noun

(in ancient Greece) a potsherd, especially one used as a ballot on which the name of a person voted to be ostracized was inscribed.

ostracon British

/ ˈɒstrəˌkɒn /

noun

(in ancient Greece) a potsherd used for ostracizing

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

ostraca

plural

Etymology

Origin of ostracon

1880–85; < Greek óstrakon; see ostracize

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

ostracon

Ever since man first scratched hieroglyphics upon an ostracon, or scribbled with sepia upon papyrus, he must have wondered, as we wonder to-day.

From The Stark Munro Letters by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023