scapegoat

Definitions

Literally the '(e)scape goat' — the goat that escapes. The word was coined in 1530 to translate a biblical ritual: on the Day of Atonement, a community's sins were symbolically laid on a goat, which was then driven out into the wilderness to carry the guilt away — it 'escaped' alive while a second goat was sacrificed. 'Scape' here is just escape with its first letter worn off, so the cap- (cappa, cloak → escape) root is hiding inside. Today a scapegoat is whoever gets blamed so everyone else can walk free.

Why It Means This

The image is startlingly literal: a real goat driven into the desert carrying a community's sins on its back so the people could be free of them. 'Scapegoat' = the goat that escapes. That is why a modern scapegoat is not just someone blamed, but someone made to carry away blame that belongs to others — a substitute who is sacrificed so the real culprits go free.

Common Collocations

• 1.make someone a scapegoat把某人当替罪羊
• 2.use as a scapegoat用作替罪羊
• 3.political scapegoat政治替罪羊

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The manager was made a scapegoat for the team's failure.

• 2.

  Politicians often scapegoat immigrants for economic problems.