the singular effigy.) In effigie was probably understood as a Latin phrase until the 18th century. The word occurs in Shakespeare's As You Like It of 1600 (II, vii, 193), where scansion suggests that the second syllable is to be emphasized, as in the Latin pronunciation (but unlike the modern English pronunciation).

Political effigies

Hanging or burning the effigy of a political enemy to ridicule and dishonour them is a very old and very widespread practice.

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