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paria

outcast, pariah

noun pah-RYAH Rare
People & Society Community

Origin: Tamil paraiyar (drummers, a low caste)

Usage Note

Paria came into French via Portuguese from a Tamil caste name. It describes anyone excluded from a social group or treated as beneath consideration — un paria de la société. The word is invariable in French (same form for masculine and feminine, singular and plural), and always masculine grammatically.

Examples

"Il vivait comme un paria dans son propre village."

Natural Translation

He lived like an outcast in his own village.

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