A
pejorative
word, phrase,
slur
, or
derogatory term
is a
word
or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of
respect
toward someone or something.
[1]
It is also used to express
criticism
,
hostility
, or disregard. Sometimes, a term is regarded as pejorative in some social or ethnic groups but not in others or may be originally pejorative but later adopt a non-pejorative sense (or
vice versa
) in some or all contexts.
The word
pejorative
is derived from a
Late Latin
past participle stem of
peiorare
, meaning "to make worse", from
peior
"worse".
[2]
Pejoration and melioration
edit
In
historical linguistics
, the process of an inoffensive word becoming pejorative is a form of
semantic drift
known as
pejoration
. An example of pejoration is the shift in meaning of the word
silly
from meaning that a person was happy and fortunate to meaning that they are foolish and unsophisticated.
[3]
The process of pejoration can repeat itself around a single concept, leaping from word to word in a phenomenon known as the
euphemism treadmill
, for example as in the successive pejoration of the terms
bog-house
,
privy-house
,
latrine
,
water closet
,
toilet
,
bathroom
, and
restroom
(US English).
[4]
[5]
When a term begins as pejorative and eventually is adopted in a non-pejorative sense, this is called
melioration
or
amelioration
. One example is the shift in meaning of the word
nice
from meaning a person was foolish to meaning that a person is pleasant.
[6]
When performed deliberately, it is described as
reclamation
or
reappropriation
.
[7]
Examples of a word that has been reclaimed by portions of the community that it targets is
queer
,
faggot
and
dyke
which began being re-appropriated as a positive descriptor in the early 1990s by activist groups.
[8]
However, due to its history and ? in some regions ? continued use as a pejorative, there remain LGBT individuals who are uncomfortable with having this term applied to them.
[9]
The use of the
racial slur
nigger
(specifically the
-
a
variant
) by
African Americans
is often viewed as another act of reclamation, though much like the latter in the LGBT movement, there exists a vocal subset of people with Sub-Saharan African descent that object to the use of the word under any circumstances.
[10]
- ^
"Pejorative"
. Dictionary.com.
Archived
from the original on Mar 21, 2016
. Retrieved
2012-04-25
.
- ^
"Pejorative (adj.)"
.
Online Etymology Dictionary
. Retrieved
October 16,
2016
.
- ^
Horobin, Simon (March 31, 2021).
"Five words that don't mean what you think they do"
.
The Conversation
.
Archived
from the original on April 5, 2021
. Retrieved
2021-04-05
.
- ^
Stollznow, Karen (2020-08-11).
"Ableist Language and the Euphemism Treadmill"
. Cambridge University Press
. Retrieved
2021-04-06
.
- ^
Bell, Vicars Walker (1953).
On Learning the English Tongue
. Faber & Faber. p.?19.
The Honest Jakes or Privy has graduated via Offices to the final horror of Toilet.
- ^
Nordquist, Richard (3 October 2019).
"Amelioration (word meanings)"
.
ThoughtCo
.
Archived
from the original on Jan 18, 2021
. Retrieved
2021-04-06
.
- ^
Brontsema, Robin (2004-06-01). "A Queer Revolution: Reconceptualizing the Debate Over Linguistic Reclamation".
Colorado Research in Linguistics
.
17
(1).
doi
:
10.25810/dky3-zq57
.
ISSN
1937-7029
.
Linguistic reclamation, also known as linguistic resignification or reappropriation, refers to the appropriation of a pejorative epithet by its target(s).
- ^
Perlman, Merrill (2019-01-22).
"How the word 'queer' was adopted by the LGBTQ community"
.
Columbia Journalism Review
. Retrieved
2021-07-12
.
- ^
Druhan, Colin (2019-03-06).
"Our complicated relationship with the term queer"
.
IN Magazine
. Retrieved
2021-07-12
.
- ^
Higson, Rachel (2017-09-28).
"Considering the N-Word: To Reject or Reclaim?"
.
Prindle Institute
. Retrieved
2023-03-12
.