scapegoat

Question

There was a translation in the dictionary but it seemed rather literal... so just checking. Also if anyone knows the origin of this word (in English) I would be interested.

Answer 1

chivo expiatorio = scapegoat

Our Bible teacher from Honduras used this term a couple of weeks ago. :) - 0066c384, ABR 29, 2011

this is correct. even my spanish teacher said so - Tasear, MAY 28, 2011

Answer 2

It is a word invented by William Tyndale in the 16th century as a result of a mistranslation from the bible, believing that Azazel meant a "goat that scapes" in Hebrew, when it actually was just the name of a fallen angel in the Jewish mythology.

In Spanish we say "cabeza de turco".

thanks I needed the spanish version of this word - Tasear, ABR 29, 2011

Answer 3

This term is taken from Leviticus 16:10 (and a few other places in the Bible). It references the practice of the Hebrew people where a male goat ("el macho cabrío" in NVI) was taken before the people and, in a symbolic manner, the sins of the people were placed on the head of the goat. The goat was then sent into the wilderness, representing the alienation of the people's sins from the people.

As you can find while reading the Bible in different languages, stories are sometimes handled differently when translators go from the original language. The term "scapegoat" appears to be an English rendering

Chileno gave the term used by our Honduran Bible teacher a few weeks ago in class.

chivo expiatorio

a goat that serves to expiate sins

Hope that helps!

You are correct, Dogwood, but just to clarify, this was only done once a year on the holy day of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. There is a village in Africa where this is actually done to young girls. One is selected and forced to leave the village. - NancyGrace, ABR 29, 2011

Answer 4

It looks like it might not be as literal sounding as it seems. I can't seem to figure out how to make the URL show up as a link, but if you paste the following into your browser you'll see a thread on W.R. abou just this. I like Turk's head though, and so would my Armenian wife.

Here is the link.

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Just made the link clickable for you. - webdunce, ABR 29, 2011

Answer 5

scapegoat means someone who take the blame for an action that wasn't there fault. Another definition someone is take the blame for action so that others can escape.

ex someone killed the general. nobody can find the criminal. Therefore they found a scapegoat. The scapegoat was jim barde a solider in the general army. Nobody knew him until the was arrested.

Answer 6

Thanks to both of you.