Pejorative

A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or 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]

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] An example of a word that has been reclaimed by portions of the community that it targets is queer , 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 some people of sub-Saharan African descent object to the use of the word under any circumstances.^[10]

• Croom, Adam M. (2011). "Slurs". Language Sciences. 33 (3): 343–358. doi:10.1016/j.langsci.201011005.
• Croom, Adam M. (2014). "Remarks on 'The Semantics of Racial Slurs'". Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations. Vol. 13, no. 1. pp. 11–32.
• Croom, Adam M. (January 2014). "The Semantics of Slurs: A Refutation of Pure Expressivism" . Language Sciences. 41, Part B: 227–242. doi:10.1016/j.langsci.201307003.
• Henderson, Anita (Spring 2003). "What's in a Slur?". American Speech. Vol. 78, no. 1. Project MUSE. pp. 52–74.

• Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Pejoratives at Wikimedia Commons
• Fieser, James; Dowden, Bradley (eds.). "Pejorative Language". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy . ISSN 2161-0002. OCLC 37741658.

• Pejorative terms
• Connotation
• Criticisms
• Harassment and bullying
• Prejudice and discrimination

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