Meaning of "scapegoat" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD SCAPEGOAT

From escape + goat, coined by William Tyndale to translate Biblical Hebrew azāzēl (probably) goat for Azazel, mistakenly thought to mean ``goat that escapes''.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF SCAPEGOAT

scapegoat  [ˈskeɪpˌɡəʊt]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF SCAPEGOAT

Scapegoat is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb scapegoat in English.

WHAT DOES SCAPEGOAT MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Scapegoat

Scapegoat derives from the common English translation of the Hebrew term azazel which occurs in Leviticus 16:8 after the prefix la-. And Aaron shall place lots upon the two he goats: one lot "For the Lord," and the other lot, "For Azazel." —Leviticus, Leviticus 16:8 In ancient Greece a cripple or beggar or criminal was cast out of the community, either in response to a natural disaster or in response to a calendrical crisis. In the Bible, the goat for Azazel was a goat that was designated to be outcast in the desert as part of the ceremonies of the Day of Atonement, that began during the Exodus with the original Tabernacle and continued through the times of the temples in Jerusalem. In psychology and sociology, the practice of selecting someone as a scapegoat has led to the concept of scapegoating.

Definition of scapegoat in the English dictionary

The first definition of scapegoat in the dictionary is a person made to bear the blame for others. Other definition of scapegoat is a goat used in the ritual of Yom Kippur ; it was symbolically laden with the sins of the Israelites and sent into the wilderness to be destroyed. Scapegoat is also to make a scapegoat of.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO SCAPEGOAT

PRESENT

Present

I scapegoat

you scapegoat

he/she/it scapegoats

we scapegoat

you scapegoat

they scapegoat

Present continuous

I am scapegoating

you are scapegoating

he/she/it is scapegoating

we are scapegoating

you are scapegoating

they are scapegoating

Present perfect

I have scapegoated

you have scapegoated

he/she/it has scapegoated

we have scapegoated

you have scapegoated

they have scapegoated

Present perfect continuous

I have been scapegoating

you have been scapegoating

he/she/it has been scapegoating

we have been scapegoating

you have been scapegoating

they have been scapegoating

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I scapegoated

you scapegoated

he/she/it scapegoated

we scapegoated

you scapegoated

they scapegoated

Past continuous

I was scapegoating

you were scapegoating

he/she/it was scapegoating

we were scapegoating

you were scapegoating

they were scapegoating

Past perfect

I had scapegoated

you had scapegoated

he/she/it had scapegoated

we had scapegoated

you had scapegoated

they had scapegoated

Past perfect continuous

I had been scapegoating

you had been scapegoating

he/she/it had been scapegoating

we had been scapegoating

you had been scapegoating

they had been scapegoating

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will scapegoat

you will scapegoat

he/she/it will scapegoat

we will scapegoat

you will scapegoat

they will scapegoat

Future continuous

I will be scapegoating

you will be scapegoating

he/she/it will be scapegoating

we will be scapegoating

you will be scapegoating

they will be scapegoating

Future perfect

I will have scapegoated

you will have scapegoated

he/she/it will have scapegoated

we will have scapegoated

you will have scapegoated

they will have scapegoated

Future perfect continuous

I will have been scapegoating

you will have been scapegoating

he/she/it will have been scapegoating

we will have been scapegoating

you will have been scapegoating

they will have been scapegoating

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would scapegoat

you would scapegoat

he/she/it would scapegoat

we would scapegoat

you would scapegoat

they would scapegoat

Conditional continuous

I would be scapegoating

you would be scapegoating

he/she/it would be scapegoating

we would be scapegoating

you would be scapegoating

they would be scapegoating

Conditional perfect

I would have scapegoat

you would have scapegoat

he/she/it would have scapegoat

we would have scapegoat

you would have scapegoat

they would have scapegoat

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been scapegoating

you would have been scapegoating

he/she/it would have been scapegoating

we would have been scapegoating

you would have been scapegoating

they would have been scapegoating

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you scapegoat
we let´s scapegoat
you scapegoat

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to scapegoat

Past participle

scapegoated

Present Participle

scapegoating

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «SCAPEGOAT»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «scapegoat» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of scapegoat

accuse · blame · fall guy · patsy · victim · whipping boy

TRANSLATION OF SCAPEGOAT

Find out the translation of scapegoat to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of scapegoat from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «scapegoat» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 替罪羊
• Translator English - Spanish: cabeza de turco
• English: scapegoat
• Translator English - Hindi: बलि का बकरा
• Translator English - Arabic: كبش الفداء
• Translator English - Russian: козлом отпущения
• Translator English - Portuguese: bode expiatório
• Translator English - Bengali: বলির পাঁঠা
• Translator English - French: bouc émissaire
• Translator English - Malay: kambing hitam
• Translator English - German: Sündenbock
• Translator English - Japanese: 身代わり
• Translator English - Korean: 희생양
• Translator English - Javanese: Scapegoat
• Translator English - Vietnamese: người hàm oan
• Translator English - Tamil: பலிகடா
• Translator English - Marathi: बळीचा बकरा
• Translator English - Turkish: günah keçisi
• Translator English - Italian: capro espiatorio
• Translator English - Polish: kozioł ofiarny
• Translator English - Ukrainian: козлом відпущення
• Translator English - Romanian: țap ispășitor
• Translator English - Greek: αποδιοπομπαίος τράγος
• Translator English - Afrikaans: sondebok
• Translator English - Swedish: syndabock
• Translator English - Norwegian: syndebukk

8 QUOTES WITH «SCAPEGOAT»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word scapegoat.

1

Bob Barr

Nobody is denying we should investigate and do what we can to prevent gun crime in our cities and towns. But, we should not scapegoat the American gun owner for complicated, cultural problems we are just beginning to understand.

2

Ernest Bevin

Unintelligent people always look for a scapegoat.

3

Ice Cube

I think rap music is brought up, gangster rap in particular, as well as video games, every other thing they try to hang the ills of society on as a scapegoat.

4

Henry Louis Gates

I think that the roots of racism have always been economic, and I think people are desperate and scared. And when you're desperate and scared you scapegoat people. It exacerbates latent tendencies toward - well, toward racism or homophobia or anti-Semitism.

5

Richard Hofstadter

It is ironic that the United States should have been founded by intellectuals, for throughout most of our political history, the intellectual has been for the most part either an outsider, a servant or a scapegoat.

6

Michael Lewis

The Red Sox are the local scapegoats. It's hard enough to play baseball without being the local scapegoat too.

7

Wale

There's no way you can win when you're the president; you've got to be the scapegoat for America's issues.

8

Edward Zwick

I think it's too easy often to find a villain out of the headlines and to then repeat that villainy again and again and again. You know, traditionally, America has always looked to scapegoat someone as the boogie man.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «SCAPEGOAT»

Discover the use of scapegoat in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to scapegoat and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Scapegoat: A History of Blaming Other People

From medieval witch burning to reality TV, this is a brilliantly relevant and timely social history that looks at the obsession, mania, persecution and injustice of scapegoating.

Charlie Campbell, 2012

Scapegoat: The Jews, Israel and Womens' Liberation

In Scapegoat Dworkin draws on history, literature, philosophy, and politics to create a series of pairings -- homeland/home, pogrom/rape, Palestinians/prostitutes -- that elucidate the misogyny and anti-Semitism of the past millennium's ...

Andrea Dworkin, 2000

The Scapegoat

Loaded with suspense and crackling wit, The Scapegoat tells the double story of the attempts by John, the imposter, to escape detection by the family, servants, and several mistresses of his alter ego, and of his constant and frustrating ...

Daphne Du Maurier, 1957

The Scapegoat

In 'The Scapegoat', the author audaciously turns to classical mythology, medieval narrative, and the New Testament to explore the scenes behind 'texts of persecution, ' documents that recount collective violence from the standpoint of the ...

René Girard, 1989

Scapegoat: General Percival of Singapore

This biography evaluates General Percival in the context of his military service as well as his generalship during the critical Malayan campaign and the surrender of Singapore.

Clifford Kinvig, 1996

Scapegoat: the lonesome death of Bruno Richard Hauptmann

Drawing on three years of research and suppressed police and FBI documents, an investigative reporter discloses evidence that Bruno Richard Hauptmann did not kidnap and kill the baby of Charles and Anne Lindbergh

Anthony Scaduto, 1976

Scapegoat

In Scapegoat, Katharine Quarmby looks behind the headlines to trace the history of disability and our discomfort with disabled people, from Greek and Roman culture through the Industrial Revolution and the origins of Britain’s asylum ...

Katharine Quarmby, 2011

A Scapegoat in the New Wilderness: The Origins and Rise of ...

Comprehensive in approach, the book combines psychological, sociological, economic, cultural, anthropological, and historical interpretation to reveal the nature of anti-Semitism in the United States.

Frederic Cople Jaher, 1996

Scapegoat

If she lives that long. In a powerhouse follow-up to her lauded debut Miles to Go, Amy Dawson Robertson delves deeper into the trials of a hero coping with the complicated landscape of guilt, responsibility and honor.

Amy Dawson Robertson, 2012

Flesh Becomes Word: A Lexicography of the Scapegoat Or, the ...

A groundbreaking search for the origins of this expression, Flesh Becomes Word traces the scapegoat to its origins in Mesopotamian ritual across centuries of typological interpretation and religious reflection, to its first informal uses in ...

David Dawson, 2013

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «SCAPEGOAT»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term scapegoat is used in the context of the following news items.

Jerome Boateng defends Schalke 'scapegoat' Kevin-Prince Boateng

Jerome Boateng has jumped to the defence of half-brother Kevin-Prince Boateng by claiming he is being used as a scapegoat by Schalke following their poor ... «SkySports, May 15»

Fellaini: Being Man Utd FC scapegoat nearly destroyed me!

Marouane Fellaini has admitted he was almost “destroyed” after being made the scapegoat of Manchester United's woes. The Belgian star was widely blamed ... «Winner Sports, May 15»

Fired Effigy Mounds official says she's a scapegoat

IOWA CITY, Ia. — A former National Park Service official in Iowa says she was unfairly blamed and fired for approving illegal construction projects that damaged ... «DesMoinesRegister.com, May 15»

Nick Leeson: Wall Street 'flash crash' trader may just be scapegoat

Nick Leeson, the original rogue trader who brought down Barings Bank, has described the 'flash crash' trader as a scapegoat who may not have realised what ... «Telegraph.co.uk, Apr 15»

Beck nothing more than 'scapegoat,' attorney says

The other picture, being painted by Beck's attorneys, is of a man who is nothing more than “a scapegoat” for “embarrassed” investors trying to pin the company's ... «Dayton Daily News, Mar 15»

Honourable President, stop scapegoat politics: Mulder

Speaking during a joint-sitting debate on last week's state-of-the-nation address, he accused Zuma and his party of resorting to "scapegoat politics" to stem their ... «Times LIVE, Feb 15»

Hunt Terrorists, Don't Scapegoat Muslims

Then President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno had the good sense not rush to judgment and scapegoat Muslims. The swift arrest of Timothy McVeigh ... «Huffington Post, Jan 15»

UPA used Afzal Guru as a scapegoat in bid to stop BJP's rise: Mufti …

"Congress played a counter-communal card in its failed bid to stop the rise of BJP at the national level and they used Afzal Guru as a scapegoat," Sayeed said ... «Firstpost, Dec 14»

Man Utd midfielder Marouane Fellaini felt like a scapegoat

... than a year in charge at Old Trafford, with United seventh in the Premier League table. Asked if felt he was a made scapegoat, Fellaini said: "Yes, a little bit.". «BBC Sport, Nov 14»

Turnout, a Scapegoat, Wasn't Always the Difference This Time

Low Democratic voter turnout has been blamed for the decisive Republican victory in Tuesday's midterm elections. It has quickly become the scapegoat, even ... «New York Times, Nov 14»