Pejorative suffix

Key takeaways

Pejorative suffix belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pejorative suffix to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pejorative suffix from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A pejorative suffix is a suffix that attaches a negative meaning to the word or word-stem preceding it. There is frequent overlap between this and the diminutive form. The pejorative suffix may add the sense of "a despicable example of the preceding," as in Spanish -ejo (see below). It can also convey the sense of "a despicable human having the preceding characteristic"; for instance, as in English -el (see below) or the development of the word cuckold from Old French cocu "cuckoo" + -ald, taken into Anglo-Saxon as cokewald and thus to the modern English word.

Examples

Catalan The Catalan language has pejorative suffixes.

-alla -alles Suffixed to nouns gives new nouns. Examples: gentalla (from gent "people"). It is also used as a collective (group) suffix. -arro -arros (fem. -arra -arras) Suffixed to nouns gives new nouns. Example: veuarra (from veu "voice"). It is also used as an augmentative suffix. -astre -astres (fem. -astra -astres) Suffixed to nouns gives new nouns. Example: poetastra (from poeta "poet"). This suffix has also the meaning "indirect relation with". -ot -ots (fem. -ota -otes) Suffixed to nouns gives new nouns. Example: sabatot (from sabata "shoe"). Suffixed to adjectives gives new adjectives. Example: lletjot (from lleig "ugly"). As a suffix it also means "object", giving a lexicalized word.

Chinese The Chinese language has pejorative suffixes.

-屄 (or commonly 逼) bī (profanity), e.g. 二逼 èrbī "dullard" (from 二 èr, which means "dull" in some dialects), 傻逼 shǎbī "fool" (from 傻 shǎ "foolish"), 骚逼 sāobī "bitch" (from 骚 sāo "coquettish") -婊 biǎo, e.g. 绿茶婊 lǜchábiǎo (used to describe a lascivious girl who pretends to be innocent, from 绿茶 lǜchá "green tea", which symbolizes innocence) NOTE: this suffix is from the word 婊子 biǎozi "prostitute", so at first word suffixed with 婊 were used to describe only women, but recently it can be used to describe both men and women, for example, 圣母婊 shèngmǔbiǎo, which means people who pretend to be as merciful as goddesses on the Internet, from 圣母shèngmǔ"goddess"

-棍 gùn, e.g.淫棍 yíngùn "lewdster" (from 淫 yín "lewd"), 恶棍 ègùn "bad guy", (from 恶 è "evil") -鬼 guǐ, e.g. 色鬼 sèguǐ" lewdster"(from 色 sè "lewd"), 醉鬼 zuìguǐ "drunkard" (from 醉 zuì "drunk") -货 huò, e.g. 贱货 jiànhuò "contemptible wretch" (from 贱 jiàn "contemptible"), 饿货 èhuò "hungry guy" (from 饿 è "hungry")

English -ard, e.g. coward, dullard, sluggard, drunkard (via Old French) -tard, e.g. Paultard, conspiratard, "Trumptard", libtard—a productive libfix abstracted from retard, perhaps influenced by the similar non-productive suffix -ard -aster, e.g. poetaster, philosophaster (via Latin) -ster, e.g. hipster, oldster (via Old English) -nik, e.g. peacenik, neatnik, beatnik (via Yiddish or Russian, where it is not necessarily pejorative) -rel, e.g. mongrel, wastrel (from Middle English, from Old French)

Esperanto -aĉ-, e.g. veteraĉo "foul weather" (from vetero "weather"), domaĉo "hovel" (from domo "house"), hundaĉo "cur" (from hundo "dog")

Hawaiian -ā (-wā), e.g. lonoā "gossip" (from lono "news") -ea, e.g. poluea "seasickness" (from polu "wet")

Italian -accio(a) (or -uccio/a), e.g. boccaccia "ugly mug" (from bocca "mouth")

Japanese -め (-me), e.g. 「化け物め」 (bakemono-me) "That damn monster!" or 「可愛いやつめ」(kawaii yatsu-me) "That darn cutie!"

Latin -aster, denoting fraudulent resemblance, e.g. patraster "one who plays the father" (from pater "father")

Ojibwe (Anishinaabemowin) -ish, e.g. animosh "dog"

Portuguese -eco, e.g. jornaleco "low-quality newspaper" (from jornal "newspaper") -inho, e.g. juizinho "bad judge" (from juiz "judge")

Provençal -asso, e.g. vidasso "wretched life" (from vido "life")

Russian -iška (ишка) -uxa (уха), pejorative for non-personal nouns, e.g. černuxa, dramatic term for an unrelentingly bleak cinematic style (from čern- "black") -jaga (яга), pejorative for persons, e.g. skuperdjaga (miser or skinflint), skromnjaga (excessively modest person), stiljaga (style-hunter, hipster), dokhodjaga (goner, said of Kolyma labor-camp prisoners nearing death)

Spanish -aco(a), e.g., pajarraco "large ugly bird" (from pájaro "bird), negraco "nigger" (from negro "black"), moraco "raghead" (from moro "Moor"). -ejo(a), e.g., lugarejo "podunk town" (from lugar "place") and librejo "worthless book" (from libro "book"); however, -ejo can also show endearment, as in festejo. -illo(a), e.g., cantantillo "bad (unknown) singer (from cantante "singer"), pistolilla (from pistola "gun"), cancioncilla (from canción "song"). -on(a), e.g. larguchón "large guy" (from largo "long"), simplon (simpleton), payasón "annoying guy" (from payaso, clown); like the suffix -ejo, can also be used for endearment, as in fiestón, big party. -ote(a), e.g., discursote "long dull speech" (from discurso "speech")(used mostly as an augmentative) -ucho(a), e.g., casucha "hovel" (from casa "house") -zuelo(a), e.g., mujerzuela "whore" (from mujer "woman")

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pejorative suffix

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pejorative suffix claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pejorative suffix before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pejorative suffix ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pejorative suffix

In research: Pejorative suffix appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pejorative suffix in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pejorative suffix is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Grammar, Pejorative terms, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pejorative suffix outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Pejorative suffix in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pejorative suffix means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pejorative suffix out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pejorative suffix in simple terms?

A pejorative suffix is a suffix that attaches a negative meaning to the word or word-stem preceding it. There is frequent overlap between this and the diminutive form.

Why does Pejorative suffix matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pejorative suffix?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pejorative suffix.