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Definition of pillory - 5 dictionary results
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pil⋅lo⋅ry

  [pil-uh-ree] noun, plural -ries, verb, -ried, -ry⋅ing.
Use pillory in a Sentence
–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.
Origin:
1225–75; ME pyllory < OF pilori, perh. < ML pīlōrium, equiv. to L pīl(a) pillar (see pile 1 ) + -ōrium -ory 2 , though Rom vars. such as Pr espillori suggest a less transparent source
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pil·lo·ry   (pĭl'ə-rē)   
n.   pl. pil·lo·ries
A wooden framework on a post, with holes for the head and hands, in which offenders were formerly locked to be exposed to public scorn as punishment.
tr.v.   pil·lo·ried, pil·lo·ry·ing, pil·lo·ries
  1. To expose to ridicule and abuse.
  2. To put in a pillory as punishment.

[Middle English, from Old French pilori, probably from Latin pīla, pillar.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Pillory

Pil"lo*ry\, n.; pl. Pillories. [F. pilori; cf. Pr. espitlori, LL. piloricum, pilloricum, pellericum, pellorium, pilorium, spilorium; perhaps from a derivative of L. speculari to look around, observe. Cf. Speculate.] A frame of adjustable boards erected on a post, and having holes through which the head and hands of an offender were thrust so as to be exposed in front of it. --Shak.

Pillory

Pil"lo*ry\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pilloried; p. pr. & vb. n. Pillorying.] [Cf. F. pilorier.]

1. To set in, or punish with, the pillory. "Hungering for Puritans to pillory." --Macaulay.

2. Figuratively, to expose to public scorn. --Gladstone.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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pillory  (n.)
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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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