Pariah \Pa"ri*ah\, n. [From Tamil paraiyan, pl. paraiyar, one of the low caste, fr. parai a large drum, because they beat the drums at certain festivals.]

1. One of an aboriginal people of Southern India, regarded by the four castes of the Hindoos as of very low grade. They are usually the serfs of the Sudra agriculturalists. See Caste. --Balfour (Cyc. of India).

2. An outcast; one despised by society.

Pariah dog (Zo["o]l.), a mongrel race of half-wild dogs which act as scavengers in Oriental cities.

Pariah kite (Zo["o]l.), a species of kite (Milvus govinda) which acts as a scavenger in India.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)