underprivileged

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁én

Proto-Indo-European *-tér

Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér

Proto-Indo-European *h₂én

Proto-Indo-European *-dʰi

?

Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰí

Proto-Indo-European *-ér

Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér

Proto-Germanic *under

Proto-West Germanic *undar

Old English under-

Middle English under-

English under-

English privileged

English underprivileged

From under- + privileged.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

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Adjective

underprivileged (comparative more underprivileged, superlative most underprivileged)

1. Deprived of the opportunities and advantages of others, usually through no fault of one's own.
   • 1996, “After the Smoke is Clear”, in Ironman, performed by Ghostface Killah:

     Underprivileged, grew up in a Stapleton house village / Where blood flood the water in streets like oil spillage

Derived terms

• underprivilegedness

Translations

deprived of opportunities and advantages

• Danish: underprivilegeret
• Finnish: vähäosainen (fi)
• French: défavorisé (fr) m
• German: unterprivilegiert (de), benachteiligt (de)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: underprivilegert

  Nynorsk: underprivilegert

See also

• disenfranchised

Noun

underprivileged (plural underprivileged)

1. A deprived person; deprived people (normally used as a plural).
   • 2004, Phyllis G. Jestice, Holy People of the World: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia‎^[1], ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 183:

     Since that time, both Catholicism and the Protestant denominations have seen an enormous outpouring of caritative agencies. Nuns and monks made teaching and care for the underprivileged a central part of their vocation; devout men and women have founded and devoted their lives to institutions as far removed as Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity and the Salvation Army.

Translations

deprived people

• Finnish: vähäosainen (fi)
• German: Unterprivilegierter m, Unterprivilegierte f, Benachteiligter (de) m, Benachteiligte (de) f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: de underprivilegerte

  Nynorsk: dei underprivilegerte

• Spanish: desamparado (es) m, desfavorecido (es) m

Further reading

• Raymond Williams (1983), “Underprivileged”, in Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society, revised American edition, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, published 1985, →ISBN, page 324.