leper
Untouchable, once literally
A leper is a person afflicted with leprosy, a bacterial disease that damages skin and nerves.
Because lepers were historically isolated from society, the word extends to anyone treated as an outcast: After the scandal, he became a leper in Washington circles.
The figurative use is now more common than the literal, as medical terminology has shifted to "person with leprosy."
Shunned, rejected person
- pariahRejected, shunned person
- untouchableExempt from criticism or harm
- stigmaMark of dishonor
- shunnedPersistently avoided socially
exile · isolation · rejection · ostracism · exclusion · marginalized · banished · segregation
Rural Hawaiian island
- Robben IslandSouth African prison colony
- isolationComplete separation from others
- settlementResolved dispute or colony
- quarantineIsolation preventing disease transmission
asylum · sanctuary · exile · community · segregation · hospital · mission · remoteness
Bacterial infection affecting nerves
- lesionArea of pathological change
- disfigurementMarred physical appearance
- numbnessLoss of sensation
- noduleRounded small lump
bacillus · skin · nerve damage · ulcer · blindness · amputation · bandage · wound
outcast
Shunned, rejected person
- pariahRejected, shunned person
- untouchableExempt from criticism or harm
- stigmaMark of dishonor
shunned · exile · isolation · rejection · ostracism · exclusion · marginalized · banished · segregation · discrimination
Molokai
Rural Hawaiian island
- Robben IslandSouth African prison colony
- isolationComplete separation from others
- settlementResolved dispute or colony
quarantine · asylum · sanctuary · exile · community · segregation · hospital · mission · remoteness · island
Hansen's disease
Bacterial infection affecting nerves
- lesionArea of pathological change
- disfigurementMarred physical appearance
- numbnessLoss of sensation
nodule · bacillus · skin · nerve damage · ulcer · blindness · amputation · bandage · wound · contagion
unclean
Soiled or contaminated
miracle · cleansing · purification · Leviticus · ritual · priest · outcry · compassion · touch · restoration
- outcastsoutcast, pariah, pariahs, outcasts, outlaws
- outsidersoutcast, outsider, outcasts, pariah, misfit
- Medieval Womenabbess, noblewoman, lady, queen, duchess
- social stigmastigma, stigmatized, shame, shamed, disgrace
- LeprosyHansen's disease, mycobacterium, bacillus, bacilli, skin lesions
- Roman JudeaJudea, Masada, Pontius Pilate, Herod the Great, Second Temple
- leper colonyIsolated community for afflicted
- leper coloniesIsolated communities for diseased outcasts
- leprosy treatmentTherapy for Hansen's disease