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PEJORATION

PEJORATION. A term in LINGUISTICS for the process of SEMANTIC CHANGE in which there is a depreciation or ‘downward’ shift in the meaning of a word, phrase, or lexeme: for example, Old English cnafa (boy: compare German Knabe) became Modern English knave someone dishonest; Latin villanus (a farm servant) became Middle English vilain/vilein (a serf with some rights of independence), then Modern English villain (a scoundrel, criminal). See MELIORATION.

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	DETERIORATION Book article from: Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language DETERIORATION. 1. An emotive term for LANGUAGE CHANGE seen as evidence of linguistic and social decline. 2. Also pejoration . A category of SEMANTIC CHANGE , in which the meaning of a word or phrase depreciates with time: crafty once meant ‘... Read more
	MELIORATION Book article from: Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language ...over-refined (17–18c), careful, precise, intricate, difficult, fastidious (16–19c), dainty, appetizing (18–19c), refined, cultured, discriminating (17–20c), and agreeable, pleasant (18–20c). See PEJORATION . Read more
	SEMANTIC CHANGE Book article from: Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language ...CONVERSION , DERIVATION , DETERIORATION , EPONYM , ETYMOLOGY , EUPHEMISM , FIGURATIVE EXTENSION , FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE , HOMOGRAPH , HOMONYM , HOMOPHONE , JANUS WORD, LOCALISM , MELIORATION , METAPHOR METONYMY, PEJORATION , POLYSEMY , RADIATION . Read more

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