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scapegoat

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Idioms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.

scapegoat

In the Old Testament, a goat that was symbolically burdened with the sins of the people and then killed on Yom Kippur to rid Jerusalem of its iniquities. Similar rituals were held elsewhere in the ancient world to transfer guilt or blame. In ancient Greece, human scapegoats were beaten and driven out of cities to mitigate calamities. In early Roman law, an innocent person was allowed to assume the penalty of another; Christianity reflects this notion in its belief that Jesus died to atone for the sins of mankind.


scapegoat
Old Testament a goat used in the ritual of Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16); it was symbolically laden with the sins of the Israelites and sent into the wilderness to be destroyed

scapegoat
sent into wilderness bearing sins of Israelites. [O.T.: Leviticus 16:8–22]
See : Penitence


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
Reed would have endured my presence more complacently; her children would have entertained for me more of the cordiality of fellow-feeling; the servants would have been less prone to make me the scapegoat of the nursery.
Scenery of the Way-lee-way A substitute for tobacco Sublime scenery of Snake River The garrulous old chief and his cousin A Nez Perce meeting A stolen skin The scapegoat dog Mysterious conferences The little chief His hospitality The captain's account of the United States His healing skill
On entering the drawing room Stepan Arkadyevitch apologized, explaining that he had been detained by that prince, who was always the scapegoat for all his absences and unpunctualities, and in one moment he had made all the guests acquainted with each other, and, bringing together Alexey Alexandrovitch and Sergey Koznishev, started them on a discussion of the Russification of Poland, into which they immediately plunged with Pestsov.
 
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