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pillory

 [pil-uh-ree]   Example Sentences Origin

pil·lo·ry

   [pil-uh-ree] noun, plural -ries, verb, -ried, -ry·ing.
noun
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)
2.
to set in the pillory.
3.
to expose to public derision, ridicule, or abuse: The candidate mercilessly pilloried his opponent.

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Pillory is a GRE word you need to know.
So is suppliant. Does it mean:
a person who humbly asks or prays; a petitioner
neatly or effectively concise; brief and pithy; abruptly concise or curt
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Origin:
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 forms
un·pil·lo·ried, adjective

Can be confused: pillar, pillory, pillow.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To pillory
Example Sentences
  • Hill intends to put him in a pillory before the public.
  • His solution is to throttle free trade and pillory efficient retailers that sell cheap imported winter coats.
  • The world mocks at it and sometimes puts one in the pillory for it.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
pillory (ˈpɪlərɪ)
 
—n , pl -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
 
—vb , -ries, -ries, -rying, -ried
3.  to expose to public scorn or ridicule
4.  to punish by putting in a pillory
 
[C13: from Anglo-Latin pillorium, from Old French pilori, of uncertain origin; related to Provençal espillori]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

pillory
1274 (attested in Anglo-L. from c.1189), from O.Fr. pellori (1168), from M.L. pilloria, of uncertain origin, perhaps a dim of L. pila "pillar, stone barrier." The verb is first attested 1600.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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