pillory

[pil-uh-ree]

noun, plural pil·lo·ries.

a wooden framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used to expose an offender to public derision.

verb (used with object), pil·lo·ried, pil·lo·ry·ing.

to set in the pillory.

to expose to public derision, ridicule, or abuse: The candidate mercilessly pilloried his opponent.

Origin of pillory

1225–75; Middle English pyllory < Old French pilori, perhaps < Medieval Latin pīlōrium, equivalent to Latin pīl(a) pillar (see pile¹) + -ōrium -ory², though Romance variants such as Provençal espillori suggest a less transparent source

Related formsun·pil·lo·ried, adjective

Can be confusedpillar pillory pillow

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

Examples from the Web for pillory

Contemporary Examples of pillory

Compare the British pillory of Tebbit with the reaction in India to the Kashmiri students.
India Row Evokes Cricket’s Ultranationalist Tebbit Test
Tunku Varadarajan
March 23, 2014
“Rails” and “lacerate,” two other words swiftly elected for pillory, were classic Tejpal, overblown, mannered, theatrical.
The Fall of India’s Conscience
Tunku Varadarajan
November 25, 2013
And because the pillory of a bad book is as culturally stimulating as the lauding of a good book.
Letter to a Young Critic: William Giraldi Defends True Criticism
William Giraldi
September 5, 2012

Historical Examples of pillory

The pillory stood not far away, and the May-pole is also mentioned.
Yorkshire Painted And Described
Gordon Home
Of course when they saw me I was not on my pedestal, I was in the pillory.
De Profundis
Oscar Wilde
When they had agreed, it appeared that one of his ears was nailed at the pillory in Bristol.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;
Various
"He'll put you in the pillory of his verse for this," laughed Collis.
The Lion's Skin
Rafael Sabatini
In fact, the Nottingham cuck-stool was similar to a pillory.
Bygone Punishments
William Andrews

British Dictionary definitions for pillory

pillory

noun plural -ries

a wooden framework into which offenders were formerly locked by the neck and wrists and exposed to public abuse and ridicule

exposure to public scorn or abuse

verb -ries, -rying or -ried (tr)

to expose to public scorn or ridicule

to punish by putting in a pillory

Word Origin for pillory

C13: from Anglo-Latin pillorium, from Old French pilori, of uncertain origin; related to Provençal espillori

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

Word Origin and History for pillory

late 13c. (attested in Anglo-Latin from late 12c.), from Old French pilori "pillory" (mid-12c.), related to Medieval Latin pilloria, of uncertain origin, perhaps a diminutive of Latin pila "pillar, stone barrier" (see pillar), but OED finds this proposed derivation "phonologically unsuitable."

c.1600, from pillory (n.). Figurative sense of "expose publicly to ridicule or abuse" is from 1690s. Related: Pilloried.