scapegoat
The origin and history of scapegoat.
Etymology
Coined by the 16th-century Bible translator William Tyndale from "scape" (escape) + "goat," describing an ancient ritual in which a goat symbolically carried away a community's sins into the wilderness.
Class of 1500
scapegoat first entered the language around 1500. Other words from the same year:
See the full Class of 1500 →