pillory

[ pil-uh-ree ]

noun,plural pil·lo·ries.
  1. 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.
  1. to set in the pillory.

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

Origin of pillory

1
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English pyllory, from Old French pilori, perhaps from Medieval Latin pīlōrium, equivalent to Latin pīl(a) “pillar” (see pile1) + -ōrium noun suffix (see -ory2), though Romance variants such as Provençal espillori suggest a less transparent source

Other words from pillory

  • un·pil·lo·ried, adjective

Words that may be confused with pillory

Words Nearby pillory

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pillory in a sentence

  • East Looe boasts a further relic of its past in the ancient pillory preserved at the porch of its town hall.

    The Cornwall Coast | Arthur L. Salmon
  • In place of such we have an interesting memorial of Looe's former use of the "cage," a companion instrument to the pillory.

    The Cornwall Coast | Arthur L. Salmon
  • He was fined five hundred pounds and placed in the pillory; the Chief Justice wished that he might be also whipped.

British Dictionary definitions for pillory

pillory

/ (ˈpɪlərɪ) /


nounplural -ries
  1. a wooden framework into which offenders were formerly locked by the neck and wrists and exposed to public abuse and ridicule

  2. exposure to public scorn or abuse

verb-ries, -rying or -ried (tr)
  1. to expose to public scorn or ridicule

  2. to punish by putting in a pillory

Origin of pillory

1
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