Pejorative

Pejoratives^[1] (or terms of abuse, derogatory terms), including name slurs,^[2] are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts. Sometimes a term may begin as a pejorative and eventually be adopted in a non-pejorative sense in some or all contexts, e.g., "punk". In historical linguistics, this phenomenon is known as melioration, or amelioration, or semantic change.^[3]

Name slurs can also involve an insulting or disparaging innuendo,^[2] rather than being a direct derogatory remark. In some cases, a person's name can be redefined with an unpleasant or insulting meaning, or applied to a group of people considered to be inferior or lower in social class, as a group label with a disparaging meaning. Also, an ethnic slur or racial slur can be used as a pejorative to imply people of those groups are inferior or deficient.

See also

• Approbative
• Ethnic slur
• Fighting words
• Insult
• Profanity
• List of ethnic slurs

References

1. ^ Pejorative on Dictionary.com
2. ^ ^{a b} "Slur", Merriam-Webster.com, 2011, webpage: MWslur.
3. ^ Croom, Adam M. (May 2011). "Slurs". Language Sciences (Elsevier) 33 (3): 343–358. doi:10.1016/j.langsci.2010.11.005. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VD2-51PBJ21-1&_user=489256&_coverDate=05%2F31%2F2011&_rdoc=2&_fmt=high&_orig=browse&_origin=browse&_zone=rslt_list_item&_srch=doc-info(%23toc%235970%232011%23999669996%233020754%23FLA%23display%23Volume)&_cdi=5970&_sort=d&_docanchor=&_ct=11&_acct=C000022721&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=489256&md5=f94b3fbfef3504c7d540c69149e5bf56&searchtype=a. 

Further reading

• Croom, Adam M. "Slurs." Language Sciences, Volume 33, Number 3, May 2011, pp. 343-358. Published by Elsevier.
• Henderson, Anita. "What's in a Slur?" American Speech, Volume 78, Number 1, Spring 2003, pp. 52–74 in Project MUSE

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This sociology-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Bullying Discrimination Pejoratives Linguistics stubs Sociology stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая? Empress Matilda Battle of Spotsylvania Court House Look at other dictionaries: pejorative — depreciative, disparaging, 1882, from Fr. péjoratif (fem. péjorative), from L.L. pejoratus, pp. of pejorare make worse, from L. pejor worse, related to pessimus worst, pessum downward, to the ground. English had a verb pejorate to worsen from… …   Etymology dictionary pejorative — [pi jôr′ə tiv, pijär′ə tiv; ] occas. [ pē′jə rāt΄iv, pej′ərāt΄iv] adj. [< L pejoratus, pp. of pejorare, to make worse < pejor, worse, orig., inclined downward < IE base * ped ,FOOT] 1. declining; making or becoming worse: applied to… …   English World dictionary Pejorative — Pe*jor a*tive, a. [F. p[ e]joratif, fr. L. pejor, used as compar. of malus evil.] Implying or imputing evil; depreciatory; disparaging; unfavorable. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English pejorative — I adjective abusive, acrimonious, belittling, blackening, calumnious, castigatory, censorious, critical, cynical, damaging, decrying, defamatory, denigrating, denunciatory, depreciative, depreciatory, derisive, derogative, derogatory, detracting …   Law dictionary pejorative — *derogatory, depreciatory, depreciative, disparaging, slighting Analogous words: contemptuous, despiteful, scornful, disdainful (see corresponding nouns under DESPISE vb): decrying, belittling, minimizing (see DECRY) Contrasted words: praising,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms pejorative — [adj] negative, belittling debasing, deprecatory, depreciatory, derisive, derogatory, detracting, detractive, detractory, disadvantageous, disparaging, irreverent, rude, slighting, uncomplimentary, unpleasant; concept 267 Ant. complimentary,… …   New thesaurus pejorative — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ expressing contempt or disapproval. DERIVATIVES pejoratively adverb. ORIGIN French péjoratif, from Latin pejorare make worse …   English terms dictionary péjorative — ● péjoratif, péjorative adjectif (bas latin pejorare, aggraver, du latin classique pejor, oris, pire) péjoratif nom masculin (bas latin pejorare, aggraver, du latin classique pejor, oris, pire) Se dit d un terme ou d un affixe qui tend à… …   Encyclopédie Universelle pejorative — [[t]pəʤɒ̱rətɪv, AM ʤɔ͟ːr [/t]] ADJ GRADED A pejorative word or expression is one that expresses criticism of someone or something. [FORMAL] I agree I am ambitious, and I don t see that as a pejorative term... Isn t there a suggestion that poetess …   English dictionary pejorative — pejoratively, adv. /pi jawr euh tiv, jor , pej euh ray , pee jeuh /, adj. 1. having a disparaging, derogatory, or belittling effect or force: the pejorative affix ling in princeling. n. 2. a pejorative form or word, as poetaster. [1880 85; < L… …   Universalium 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”