pejoration

English

Etymology

From Latin peior (“worse”), +‎ -ation.

Noun

Examples (linguistics)
Old English sǣliġ (“blessed”) → Middle English seli (“blissful”) → English silly (“weak, senseless”)

pejoration (countable and uncountable, plural pejorations)

1. The act or process of becoming worse; worsening or degeneration.
2. (linguistics) The process by which a word acquires a more negative meaning over time.

   Synonym: pejorativization

   Antonym: amelioration

   Coordinate term: euphemism treadmill

   • 2014, James Lambert, “A Much Tortured Expression: A New Look At `Hobson-Jobson'”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 27, number 1, page 58:

     Nagle explains that the contemporary disapproval of the title is due to a multilayered pejoration inherent in the term Hobson-Jobson.

Further reading

• pejoration on Wikipedia.Wikipedia