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

Inflected Forms

noun

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.

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 Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir

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