scapegoat
/ˈskeɪp.ɡoʊt/
noun
Origin
English
scape + goat — a goat that escapes (is sent away)
Overview
Meaning Now
- A person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency.
- In biblical ritual, a goat that was sent into the wilderness after the high priest had symbolically laid the sins of the people upon it.
Literal older meaning
An escaped goat (from the ritual of releasing it).
Language path
Middle English → English
Earliest form
scapegoate
Earliest period
1530
Journey
The term originated as a translation of the Hebrew 'azazel' in the Book of Leviticus. In the ritual of Yom Kippur, two goats were selected; one was sacrificed, and the other had the sins of the people symbolically transferred to it before being driven into the wilderness, effectively carrying the community's guilt away.
Evolution
- Biblical Hebrew (13th–6th century BCE)
עֲזָאזֵל (Azazel)
“a name or place to which the goat was sent”
Tyndale interpreted 'azazel' as 'es goat' (escaped goat), leading to the English term.
- 1530 (Tyndale)
scapegoate
“a goat cast out into the wilderness”
Introduced in the King James Bible context.
- 19th century
scapegoat
“a person blamed for others' faults”
Figurative shift from the religious ritual to common social usage.
Connections
Word parts
scape
root
to escape
goat
root
the animal
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External references use DefinedTerm semantics.