Apejorative 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 (orvice 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]
This article's factual accuracy is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help to ensure that disputed statements are reliably sourced. (July 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
Inhistorical 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 meliorationoramelioration. 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 reclamationorreappropriation.[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]
The Honest Jakes or Privy has graduated via Offices to the final horror of Toilet.
Linguistic reclamation, also known as linguistic resignification or reappropriation, refers to the appropriation of a pejorative epithet by its target(s).
Media related to Pejoratives at Wikimedia Commons