Word.ws English Dictionary

xenelasy

Syllables: xen·e·lasy/zɛˈniːləsi/US/zɛˈniləsi/

xenelasy noun: the practice of expelling foreigners in Doric Crete and Lacedaemonia.

Noun

xenelasy (uncountable)

  1. (historical, Ancient Greece) The practice of expelling foreigners in Doric Crete and Lacedaemonia.
    • The old discipline and the public mess (as far as the rich were concerned) had degenerated into mere forms—a numerous body of strangers or non-citizens (the old xenêlasy, or prohibition of resident strangers, being long discontinued) were domiciled in the town, forming a powerful moneyed interest...1846, George Grote, “Laws and Discipline of Lykurgus at Sparta”, in History of Greece, volume II, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, part II (Historical Greece), pages 537–538
    • Le Roi was in London, cook to a gambling house, while the Baron Squrzenstern Von Hairontuft, had been warned off the premises by a process nearly allied to the Spartan "Xenelasy," so Desmond was left alone.1853, chapter III, in Passion and Pedantry, […], volume I, London: Thomas Cautley Newby, […], →OCLC, pages 39–40
    Synonyms:
    xenelasia

Synonyms of xenelasy

Origin of xenelasy

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ξενηλᾰσῐ́ᾱ (xenēlăsĭ́ā, “expulsion of foreigners”) + English -y (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting a condition, quality, or state). Ξενηλᾰσῐ́ᾱ (Xenēlăsĭ́ā) is derived from ξενηλατεῖν (xenēlateîn, “to expel a foreigner”) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns); and ξενηλατεῖν (xenēlateîn) is from ξένος (xénos, “foreigner; stranger”) (probably from Pre-Greek) + ἐλαύνω (elaúnō, “to drive, set in motion; to drive away”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁elh₂- (“to drive somewhere”)) + -ειν (-ein, suffix forming infinitives of verbs).

Questions about xenelasy

What does xenelasy mean?
Xenelasy means the practice of expelling foreigners in Doric Crete and Lacedaemonia.
What part of speech is xenelasy?
Xenelasy is a noun.
How do you pronounce xenelasy?
Xenelasy is pronounced /zɛˈniːləsi/ (UK).

Words near xenelasy in the dictionary

  1. Xenaverse
  2. xenavidin
  3. xenazoic acid
  4. xenbucin
  5. xenelasia
  6. xenelasy
  7. xenematide
  8. xenematides
  9. xenharmonic
  10. xenharmonics
  11. xenharmony

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: xenelasy (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-xenelasy.wav.

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