Pejorative

I will have another post showing our recent trips but here’s another AWESOME word for you to enjoy until then:

PEJORATIVE

Thank you to the loquacious Fish of Gold for offering up this new word in her blog. I don’t think I have ever heard this word or seen it used so this is a new one to me.

From Websters.com:

pejorative

[pi-jawr–uh-tiv]

Adjective

1. having a disparaging, derogatory, or belittling effect or force.

From AlphaDictionary.com

Meaning: 1. Derogatory, negative, insulting. 2. Vulgar, profane.

Notes: Pejorative terms are words like floozy and jerk, that are insulting to those they refer to. They include all the vulgar words and racial slurs that we don’t allow on our website. The adjective may be used as a noun, as in speaking of pejoratives like drunkard, braggart, and twerp.

Word Origin

C19: from French péjoratif, from Late Latin pējōrātus, past participle of pējōrāre to make worse, from Latin pēior worse

Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pejorative

adj.

“depreciative, disparaging,” 1888, from French péjoratif, from Late Latin peiorat-, past participle stem of peiorare “make worse,” from Latin peior “worse,” related to pessimus “worst,” pessum “downward, to the ground,” from PIE *ped-yos-, comparative of root *ped- “to walk, stumble, impair” (see peccadillo ). As a noun from 1882. English had a verb pejorate “to worsen” from 1640s.