ostrakon

[os-truh-kon]

noun, plural os·tra·ka [os-truh-kuh] /ˈɒs trə kə/.

ostracon

or os·tra·kon

[os-truh-kon]

noun, plural os·tra·ca [os-truh-kuh] /ˈɒs trə kə/.

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

Origin of ostracon

1880–85; < Greek óstrakon; see ostracize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ostrakon

Historical Examples of ostrakon

Then each voter received a shell (Greek, ostrakon), and dropped it into a place made for that purpose.
The Story of the Greeks
H. A. Guerber
From ostrakon, a tile; the voter wrote the name on a tile or shell.
The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind
Herbert George Wells
One of their most interesting games, and one which you would all enjoy, was the twirling of the ostrakon.
Harper's Young People, March 16, 1880
Various

British Dictionary definitions for ostrakon

ostracon

noun

(in ancient Greece) a potsherd used for ostracizing

Word Origin for ostracon

from Greek

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