pa·ri·ah / pəˈrīə/ • n. 1. an outcast: they were treated as social pariahs.2. hist. a member of a low caste or of no caste in southern India.

pariah a member of a low caste or of no caste in southern India. The word comes in the 17th century from Tamil ‘hereditary drummer’, from paṛai a drum (pariahs not being allowed to join in with a religious procession).

From the early 19th century, the term has been in general use for someone who is despised and shunned, an outcast.

pariah member of a low Hindu caste XVII; social outcast XIX. Earlier parea, parrier, par(r)iar — Tamil paṟaiyaṉ+D547 , pl. paṟaiyar name of the largest of the lower castes in S. India, lit. ‘drummer’, f. paṟai large drum beaten at certain festivals.