Coventry
CITY IN THE WEST MIDLANDS IN ENGLAND, UK
Coventry, England; City of Coventry; Coventry (city); Metropolitan Borough of Coventry; Coventry (borough); Coventry City council; Coventry, United Kingdom; Cofantre; County Borough of Coventry; COVENTRY; Coventry, Warwickshire; Coventry, UK; West Orchards Shopping Centre; Church End, Coventry; Football in Coventry; Universities in Coventry; Education in Coventry
¦ noun (in phr. send someone to Coventry) chiefly Brit. refuse to associate with or speak to someone.
Word History
The origins of the phrase send someone to Coventry, recorded since the 18th century, are uncertain. It is sometimes said to derive from the treatment suffered in the past by soldiers stationed in the west Midlands city of Coventry, who were unpopular with the townspeople. Alternatively, it may have arisen because Royalist prisoners were sent there during the English Civil War (1642-9): the city was held by Parliamentary forces and was thus unlikely to give the prisoners a warm welcome.