plebeian

plebeian
\ \ [16] The plēbs were the ‘common people’ of ancient Rome (the word may connected with Greek pléthosmultitude’, a relative of English plethora). English gets plebeian from its derived adjective plēbēius. The connotations of ‘lower-classness’ have been transferred from ancient Rome to the present day, and inspired the derogatory pleb [19]. A plebiscite [16] is etymologically a ‘decree approved by the common people’.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • plebeian — PLEBEIÁN, Ă, plebeieni, e, s.m. şi f., adj. (livr.) 1. Plebeu (1). 2. Plebeu (2). [pr.: be ian] – Din fr. plébéien. Trimis de oprocopiuc, 23.03.2004. Sursa: DEX 98  PLEBEIÁN s., adj …   Dicționar Român

  • Plebeian — Ple*be ian (pl[ e]*b[=e] yan), a. [L. plebeius, from plebs, plebis, the common people: cf. F. pl[ e]b[ e]ien.] 1. Of or pertaining to the Roman plebs, or common people. [1913 Webster] 2. Of or pertaining to the common people; vulgar; common; as,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • plebeian — [adj] base, lower class banal, coarse, common, conventional, humble, ignoble, low, lowborn, lowly, mean, ordinary, pedestrian, popular, proletarian, traditional, uncultivated, unrefined, unsophisticated, unwashed*, vulgar, working class; concept… …   New thesaurus

  • Plebeian — Ple*be ian, n. 1. One of the plebs, or common people of ancient Rome, in distinction from {patrician}. [1913 Webster] 2. One of the common people, or lower rank of men. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • plebeian — index ordinary, uncouth Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • plebeian — 1530s, from L. plebeius “belonging to the plebs (see PLEBIAN (Cf. plebian)). Originally in English in a Roman historical sense; in general use from 1580s …   Etymology dictionary

  • plebeian — ► NOUN 1) (in ancient Rome) a commoner. 2) a member of the lower social classes. ► ADJECTIVE 1) relating to the plebeians of ancient Rome. 2) lower class or lacking in refinement. ORIGIN from Latin plebs the common people …   English terms dictionary

  • plebeian — [pli bē′ən] n. [< L plebeius < plebs, PLEBS] 1. a member of the ancient Roman lower class: opposed to PATRICIAN 2. one of the common people 3. a vulgar, coarse person adj. 1. of or characteristic of the lower class in ancient Rome or of the …   English World dictionary

  • plebeian — plebeianism, n. plebeianly, adv. plebeianness, n. /pli bee euhn/, adj. 1. belonging or pertaining to the common people. 2. of, pertaining to, or belonging to the ancient Roman plebs. 3. common, commonplace, or vulgar: a plebeian joke. n. 4. a… …   Universalium

  • plebeian — [[t]pləbi͟ːən[/t]] also plebian 1) ADJ: usu ADJ n A person, especially one from an earlier period of history, who is plebeian, comes from a low social class. In the 1790s Tom Paine taught plebeian radicals that mankind would live in harmony were… …   English dictionary

  • plebeian — 1. adjective /pləˈbiː.ən/ a) Of or pertaining to the Roman plebs, or common people. They were all from the ghetto, a plebeian throng. b) Of or pertaining to the common people; vulgar; common; as plebeian sports; 2. noun /pləˈbiː.ən/ a) One of the …   Wiktionary

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