2. Banishment; exclusion; as, social ostracism.
Public envy is as an ostracism, that eclipseth men when they grow too great.
Bacon.
Sentenced to a perpetual ostracism from the . . . confidence, and honors, and emoluments of his country.
A. Hamilton. Ostracite
(Os"tra*cite) n. (Paleon.) A fossil oyster.
Ostracize
(Os"tra*cize) v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ostracized ; p. pr. & vb. n. Ostracizing ] [Gr. fr. a tile, a
tablet used in voting, a shell; cf. oyster, bone. Cf. Osseous, Oyster.]
1. (Gr. Antiq.) To exile by ostracism; to banish by a popular vote, as at Athens. Grote.
2. To banish from society; to put under the ban; to cast out from social, political, or private favor; as, he
was ostracized by his former friends. Marvell.
Ostracoda
(||Os*trac"o*da) n. pl. (Zoöl.) Ostracoidea.
Ostracodermi
(||Os`tra*coder"mi) n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. shell of a testacean + skin.] (Zoöl.) A suborder of
fishes of which Ostracion is the type.
Ostracoid
(Os"tra*coid) a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Ostracoidea. — n. One of the Ostracoidea.
Ostracoidea
(||Os`tra*coi"de*a) n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. shell of a testacean + -oid.] (Zoöl.) An order of Entomostraca
possessing hard bivalve shells. They are of small size, and swim freely about. [Written also Ostracoda.]
Ostrea
(||Os"tre*a) n. [L., an oyster.] (Zoöl.) A genus of bivalve Mollusca which includes the true oysters.
Ostreaceous
(Os`tre*a"ceous) a. [L. ostrea an oyster. See Oyster.] (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to an
oyster, or to a shell; shelly.
The crustaceous or ostreaceous body.
Cudworth. Ostreaculture
(Os"tre*a*cul`ture) n. The artificial cultivation of oysters.
Ostreophagist
(Os`tre*oph"a*gist) n. [Gr. an oyster + to eat.] One who feeds on oysters.
Ostrich
(Os"trich) n. [OE. ostriche, ostrice, OF. ostruche, ostruce, F. autruche, L. avis struthio; avis
bird + struthio ostrich, fr. Gr. fr. bird, sparrow. Cf. Aviary, Struthious.] [Formerly written also estrich.]
(Zoöl.) A large bird of the genus Struthio, of which Struthio camelus of Africa is the best known species.
It has long and very strong legs, adapted for rapid running; only two toes; a long neck, nearly bare of
feathers; and short wings incapable of flight. The adult male is about eight feet high.
The South African ostrich (Struthio australis) and the Asiatic ostrich are considered distinct species by
some authors. Ostriches are now domesticated in South Africa in large numbers for the sake of their
plumes. The body of the male is covered with elegant black plumose feathers, while the wings and tail
furnish the most valuable white plumes.
Ostrich farm, a farm on which ostriches are bred for the sake of their feathers, oil, eggs, etc. — Ostrich
farming, the occupation of breeding ostriches for the sake of their feathers, etc. — Ostrich fern (Bot.)
a kind of fern the tall fronds of which grow in a circle from the rootstock. It is found in alluvial soil in
Europe and North America.
Ostriferous
(Os*trif"er*ous) a. [L. ostrifer; ostrea oyster + ferre.] Producing oysters; containing oysters.
