pejoration

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“
The Norsemen were apparently as sexist as we are: all of the following, flag, giglet, gimmer, skit, and slattern generally mean ` low, contemptible woman '; only may ` maiden' has survived with specific reference to women without pejoration.

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Definitions (4)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun The process or condition of worsening or degenerating.
  2. noun Linguistics The process by which the meaning of a word becomes negative or less elevated over a period of time, as silly, which formerly meant "deserving sympathy, helpless or simple,” has come to mean "showing a lack of good sense, frivolous.”

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Examples

  • The Norsemen were apparently as sexist as we are: all of the following, flag, giglet, gimmer, skit, and slattern generally mean ` low, contemptible woman '; only may ` maiden' has survived with specific reference to women without pejoration. —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol XI No 3
  • Other words without necessary pejoration: fellow, literally ` fee-layer '; guest, replacing OE g (i) est; and ombudsman. —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol XI No 3
  • Other, more objective treatises have been more likely to use a variety of terms with less cumulatively pejorative force -- cumulatively, because a term used once may carry only slight negative connotation but, used frequently, can create a considerable sense of pejoration in the mind of the reader. —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol X No 4
  • Although many articles, theoretical essays, and books have been written about metaphors, little effort has been made to investigate them systematically: as all of language is itself a metaphor (unless one believes in logomancy), one is continually confronted in the compilation of an ordinary dictionary with examples of semantic and linguistic changes (as well as amelioration, pejoration, etc.) that are tantamount to shifts of meaning that, loosely, could be said to be metaphoric. —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol XIX No 3
  • 25, 22 (King James version) work well as illustrations of the pejoration of that word. —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol V No 1
 

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Pejoration has been looked up 195 times, favorited 0 times, listed 7 times, and commented on once.

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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Medieval Latin pēiōrātiō, pēiōrātiōn-, from Late Latin pēiōrātus, past participle of pēiōrāre, to make worse, from Latin pēior, worse; see ped- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Latin pejor, worse, compare. of malus, bad, + -ation.
 

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/pidʒəˈreɪʃən/
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