# Scapegoat



## dihydrogen monoxide

I'm interested to know what animal you use in your language, if any, in your compound noun for scapegoat.


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## Mahaodeh

In Arabic it's كبش (kabsh), which means ram (male sheep). To say scapegoat, the expression كبش فداء (kabsh fidaa') is used.


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## DearPrudence

French:
*un bouc-émissaire* (bouc: he-goat)


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## kmaro

In Russian we say
_козёл отпущения_ (козёл-he goat)


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## DrWatson

Finnish: *syntipukki* (= sin goat)


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## dihydrogen monoxide

Mahaodeh said:


> In Arabic it's كبش (kabsh), which means ram (male sheep). To say scapegoat, the expression كبش فداء (kabsh fidaa') is used.


 
Do Arabic dialects use the same animal for the word scapegoat, just a different word for male sheep, for example, or do they use some kind of different animal?


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## jazyk

In Portuguese: bode expiatório.


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## Mahaodeh

dihydrogen monoxide said:


> Do Arabic dialects use the same animal for the word scapegoat, just a different word for male sheep, for example, or do they use some kind of different animal?


 
Some phrases in are spoken in Standard Arabic in all dialects, this is one of them; so the answer would be yes, I've never heard anyone refer to a scapegoat with any other phrase than kabsh fidaa'; and no, I've never heard of any other animal (such as a goat) used for this phrase.
 
As far as I know, the idea itself comes from Abraham's sacrifice where a ram was sacrificed instead of his son.  The word fidaa’ in Arabic means “a sacrifice instead of another”. While the origin of the idea is different in Arabic and in English (and probably most other languages), the metaphor is used in the same way, where the kabsh fidaa’ is someone who takes the blame of misfortune or misconduct caused by others (or others as well as himself); hence he is metaphorically sacrificed to save everyone else.


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## rocstar

Chivo expiatorio en español.
Rocstar


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## OldAvatar

Romanian:

_ţap_ (male goat) _ispăşitor_


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## dn88

*Polish:* _kozioł ("male goat") ofiarny_


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## Nizo

In *Esperanto*:

_propeka kapro_ (pro=because of + pek/=sin + kapr/=goat)


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## ThomasK

'Zonde-bok' (so sin + a male goat [or sheep]) in Dutch...


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## Zsanna

Bűnbak = sin (male) goat in Hungarian.

I have to add that although "bak" could be a buck (male deer), a ram (male sheep) as well, there is no doubt that here it wants to be a male goat because the term comes from the Bible (Leviticus) where there is a description of how a male goat is chosen (on a special day) and the main priest "reads all the community's sins on the head" of the animal which is then chased out of the village into the desert representing that people want to chase their sins (which is a greater "punishment" than the sacrifice of the other goat that cleans everything with its blood).
Sheep (rather lamb) were sacrificed as well but on other occasions...


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## kusurija

Zsanna said:


> Bűnbak = sin (male) goat in Hungarian.
> 
> I have to add that although "bak" could be a buck (male deer), a ram (male sheep) as well, there is no doubt that here it wants to be a male goat because the term comes from the Bible (Leviticus) where there is a description of how a male goat is chosen (on a special day) and the main priest "reads all the community's sins on the head" of the animal which is then chased out of the village into the desert representing that people want to chase their sins (which is a greater "punishment" than the sacrifice of the other goat that cleans everything with its blood).
> Sheep (rather lamb) were sacrificed as well but on other occasions...


 
In Czech:
Obětní beránek
Obětní = for immolation, sacrification
beránek = male lamb
I'm not sure, why Czech language declined from "goat" (kozel, kozlík) to male lamb.


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## Zsanna

Kusurija, if you have the Old Testament in Czech, could you look up Leviticus ("3rd Book") 16/5. (where _goat_ is mentioned - at least in English and in Hungarian) because it would be interesting to see whether there (where the expression comes from originally), too, they mention lamb in Czech.

"Sacrificial (= paschal?) lamb" exists in Hungarian, too, but it is used to denote an "innocent victim" (killed as an offer to God and as such it has to be "precious" and "pure" otherwise it is not a *real *sacrifice, so no idea of _sin_ should be connected to it) 
... as opposed to the above mentioned goat which is used in the sense that somebody is innocently accused and punished instead of somebody else. (The point being on _punishing somebody/anybody_ to set an example, for instance.)


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## Frank06

Hi,



ThomasK said:


> 'Zonde-bok' (so sin + a male goat [or sheep]) in Dutch...



That's _zondebok_ (one word, no hyphen).

_Bok_ doesn't refer to a male sheep. As in English, the normal word for male  sheep is _ram_.

Groetjes,

Frank


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## ThomasK

_[OK, OK, but I just split up the word to show the two parts for 'non-Dutch speakers'._

_As for the sheep: I suddenly hesitated, thinking it could be both, but you are right... Sorry ! Also because the scapegoats can be of all kinds, even sheep (or lamb), etc. But I was too quick]_

'Bok' : also male deer with us, but then we use 'reebok'. 

Most people do know that the 'scapegoat mechanism' is the key part of Réné Girard's theory (about the origin of civilisation and religion). 

Maybe interesting: 'related concepts include frameup, patsy, whipping boy and fall guy' (en.wikipedia.org).


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## Mjolnir

*Hebrew*: שעיר לעזאזל (_sair leazazel_). _Sair_ is a young he-goat, and _leazazel_ means 'to Azazel' (a mountain cliff or a goat-like demon. In Modern Hebrew, _azazel _means hell). The phrase comes from from an old Jewish ceremony.

_ On the tenth day of Tishri (Atonement Day, Yom Kippur) the high priest, after first performing the prescribed sacrifices for himself and his family, presented the victims for the sins of the people. These were a ram for a burnt offering, and two young goats for a sin-offering. Having brought the goats before God at the door of the tabernacle, he cast lots for them, the one lot "for God" and the other "for Azazel." The goat that fell to God was slain as a sin-offering for the people. But the goat of Azazel (now usually known as the "scapegoat") was made the subject of a more striking ceremony. The high priest laid his hands upon its head and confessed over it the sins of the people. Then the victim was handed over to a man standing ready for the purpose, and, laden as it was with these imputed sins, it was "led forth to an isolated region," and then let go in the wilderness._ Source, and more about the subject.


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## Encolpius

German: *Sündenbock *(eSünde = the sin, rBock)
it means the same as the Hungarian word. We took that from German.


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## apmoy70

Greek:

(A) *«Μαύρο πρόβατο»* [ˈma.vrɔ ˈprɔ.va.tɔ] (both neut.) --> _black sheep_.

-MoGr adj. *«μαύρος, -ρη, -ρο»* [ˈma.vrɔs] (masc.), [ˈma.vri] (fem.), [ˈma.vrɔ] (neut.) --> _black_, a boomerang word: Classical adj. *«ἀμαυρός» ămau̯rós* --> _hardly seen, dim, faint_ > Lat. mauros > Byz. Gr. *«μαῦρος» maû̯ros* --> _dark, dim, black_.
-MoGr neut. *«πρόβατο»* [ˈprɔ.va.tɔ] --> _sheep_ < Koine neut. noun *«πρόβατον» próbătŏn* --> _sheep (either a ram or ewe)_, a word that replaced the "difficult" earlier 3rd declension masc./fem. noun *«οἶς» oî̯s* (nom. sing.), *«οἰός» oi̯ós* (gen. sing.) < Classical deverbative noun found mostly in neut. pl *«πρόβατα» próbătă* --> _cattle, herd, flock, mostly sheep_ < Classical v. *«προβαίνω» prŏbaí̯nō* --> _to stride forward_ < compound; Classical preposition and prefix *«πρό» pró* + Classical v. *«βαίνω» baí̯nō*.

(B) *«Αποδιοπομπαίος τράγος»* [a.pɔ.ðʲɔ.pɔmˈbe.ɔs ˈtra.ɣɔs] (both masc.) --> _emissary-he-goat_. The phrase is a modern calque (1888) for the Late-latinism _caper emissarius_.
Note that in Koine Gr. the word is either *«ἀποπομπαῖος τράγος» ăpŏpŏmpaî̯ŏs trắgŏs* --> _scape-he-goat_ lit. _sent-out-he-goat_, or *«ἀποπομπαῖος χίμαρος» ăpŏpŏmpaî̯ŏs kʰímărŏs* --> _sent-out-buckling_, as it's found in the Septuagint Leviticus:
«...καὶ παρὰ τῆς συναγωγῆς τῶν υἱῶν ᾿Ισραὴλ λήψεται δύο χιμάρους ἐξ αἰγῶν περὶ ἁμαρτίας καὶ κριὸν ἕνα εἰς ὁλοκαύτωμα» - "..and he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats (i.e. bucklings) as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering." (NKJV Leviticus 16:5)
«...καὶ ἐπιθήσει ᾿Ααρὼν ἐπὶ τοὺς δύο χιμάρους κλήρους, κλῆρον ἕνα τῷ Κυρίῳ καὶ κλῆρον ἕνα τῷ ἀποπομπαίῳ» - "...then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat." (NKJV Leviticus 16:8).
«Αποδιοπομπαίος» has prevailed in the vernacular over «ἀποπομπαῖος».

-Classical adj. *«ἀποδιοπομπαῖος, -αῖα, -ον» ăpŏdĭŏpŏmpaî̯ŏs* (masc.), *ăpŏdĭŏpŏmpaî̯a* (fem.), *ăpŏdĭŏpŏmpaî̯ŏn* (neut.) --> _outcast, set aside, sent out_ < compound; Classical prefix & preposition *«ἀπό» ăpó* + Classical adj. *«δῖος» dîŏs* + Classical fem. noun *«πομπή» pŏmpḗ*.
-Classical adj. *«ἀποπομπαῖος, -αῖα, -ον» ăpŏpŏmpaî̯ŏs* (masc.), *ăpŏpŏmpaî̯a* (fem.), *ăpŏpŏmpaî̯ŏn* (neut.) --> _abominable, outcast_ < compound; Classical prefix & preposition *«ἀπό» ăpó* + Classical fem. noun *«πομπή» pŏmpḗ*.
-Classical masc. noun *«τράγος» trắgŏs* --> _he-goat_ lit. _the gnawer, nibbler_ (onomatopoeic word).
-Classical masc. noun *«χίμαρος» kʰímărŏs* --> _buckling, young-he-goat_, lit. _yearly-he-goat_ (PIE *ǵʰei̯-m- _winter, snow_ cf Arm. ձմեռ [d͜zmeṙ], _winter_; the thinking is that «χίμαρος» is an animal that has survived its first winter).


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## Dymn

rocstar said:


> Chivo expiatorio en español.
> Rocstar


Or _cabeza de turco_


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## Sardokan1.0

In Italian it's : capro espiatorio (expiatory buck)


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## velisarius

It's very interesting, apmoy, that you find a connection between _Μαύρο πρόβατο_ and _Αποδιοπομπαίος τράγος_. This Greek psychologist does too: Ψ: Το μαύρο πρόβατο κι ο αποδιοπομπαίος τράγος

Now that you mention it, I can see your point, but bearing in mind how the terms _black sheep_ and _scapegoat_ are normally used in English, they seem to me to be quite different concepts. Perhaps because the average speaker of English is less aware of the origin of the terms. I wonder how speakers of other languages feel about this.

_He's the black sheep of the family._ (He causes embarrassment or shame to his or her group or family because of bad behavior.) There's no suggestion that he's rejected  by the group, but rather the black sheep by his own behaviour fails to follow group (usually family) norms.

A _scapegoat_ is "a person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, *especially for reasons of expediency*"

_‘She is currently suspended from duty but she believes she has been *unfairly *scapegoated and is taking a High Court case to be re-instated.’_
scapegoat | Definition of scapegoat in English by Oxford Dictionaries


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## bibax

kusurija said:


> I'm not sure, why Czech language declined from "goat" (kozel, kozlík) to male lamb.


In the Czech collocation, *beránek* (= male lamb, agnus; dim. of *beran* = ram, aries) is surely connected with the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world _(*agnus* Dei qui tollit peccata mundi)_.


Zsanna said:


> Kusurija, if you have the Old Testament in Czech, could you look up Leviticus ("3rd Book") 16/5. (where _goat_ is mentioned - at least in English and in Hungarian) because it would be interesting to see whether there (where the expression comes from originally), too, they mention lamb in Czech.


In the Czech version there are two he-goats (= kozel) and one ram (= beran) like in Latin (... *duos hircos*_ pro peccato, et _*unum arietem*_ in holocaustum)_ and other languages.


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## L'irlandais

In Irish (Gaeilge) we have both :
*sceilpín gabhair* (slap? goat)
*ceap milleáin* (blame stock)

Unrelated to laughing stock, but not dissimilar = *ceap magaidh*


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