Pejorative

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A word or phrase is pejorative if it implies contempt or disapproval. The adjective pejorative is synonymous with derogatory and dyslogistic (noun: dyslogism) (antonyms: meliorative, eulogistic, noun eulogism). Dyslogisms such as "pea-brain" and "bottom-feeder" are words and phrases essentially pejorative by their nature. Although pejorative means much the same thing as disparaging, the latter term may be applied to a look or gesture as well; in the evocative language of gesture, it may not be easy to distinguish a disparaging gesture from a dismissive or merely skeptical one, however.

Pejorative expressions that are not inherently dyslogisms may also be used in a non-pejorative way, however, and determining the intent of the speaker is problematic — as with any implied meaning. Conversely, a common rhetorical ploy is to apply "pejorative" to a factual descriptor — as "toxic" might be applied to poison — and then decry it as "pejorative" to suit the agenda of those defending the substance as harmless.

Not every breath of criticism is pejorative.

Sometimes a term may begin as a pejorative word and eventually be adopted in a non-pejorative sense. This happened with the terms Quaker, Yankee, Tory and Whig, and Ham radio operator, which were originally slang insults but came to be used as non-pejorative standard words. In historical linguistics, this phenomenon is known as melioration, or amelioration. Sometimes a term is still considered as a pejorative word by some but not by others — for example, Saturday night special. In other cases, some groups have attempted to reclaim formerly offensive words applied against them, with limited success. Such terms as nigger (nigga), redneck, cracker, white trash, Redskin, dyke, queer, faggot, tranny, geek, Azn Wang, chav, or cripple are considered pejorative only if used by a non-member of the particular group in question. British English also incorporates many British regional slurs.

Conversely, a neutral (non-pejorative) term may grow to become pejorative. This phenomenon is called pejoration. For example, the term mentally retarded was originally used as a euphemism, as had been moron before, itself a euphemism for idiot, in order to avoid true dyslogisms such as feebleminded or half-witted. But it quickly grew to have a pejorative sense of its own. Another example is the use of the word cripple being replaced by handicapped. Both of these are considered pejorative with the term "physically challenged" as the current euphemism. This same progression, from neutral to pejorative, is happening with the words challenged and special, used in the same sense, today. The term "disabled" is now seen as the correct euphemism for people with both mental and physical challenges. An even more 'correct' form that can be used is "person with disabilities." On the horizon, a new euphemism, "neurologically challenged," appears ready to take the place of these terms should they also become pejorative. Language writer Steven Pinker has called this process "the euphemism treadmill."

Since meanings change over time, an up-to-date dictionary should be consulted for information on specific words.

[edit] Etymology

Pejorative comes from the Latin pejoratus, "made worse", and made a surprisingly late entry in written English, 1882, probably deriving from a contemporary French usage, péjoratif. [1]. It is so frequently misspelled as perjorative that the Oxford English Dictionary website contains a FAQ entry about this misspelling