Melioration (linguistics)

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In linguistics, a melioration ( Latin melior "better") is the change in the meaning of a word towards a better connotation.

The opposite of melioration is pejoration .

Examples

Improvements are rarer than pejorations . Nevertheless, there are some pejoratives whose original (negative) meaning has almost been lost. In some cases it happens that a derogatory term is taken up by the group concerned and redefined. It is controversial whether z. B. the word "gay" can already be classified in this group.

Marshal

The Old High German word 'mar-schalc' described a groom, the modern ' marshal ' a high military rank.

Ratatouille

Actually a not very appetizing popular Provencal name for leftovers , but today the colorful vegetable ragoût ratatouille is a popular component not only in southern French cuisine.

Gothic

The term “Gothic” ( ital. Gotico “strange”, “barbaric”; originally a swear word derived from the name of the Germanic tribe of the Goths) was coined in the Renaissance by the Italian art theorist Giorgio Vasari , who thereby showed his disdain for medieval art the “golden age” of antiquity. Even if Vasari's rating is no longer shared today, this designation was adopted.

middle Ages

The term Middle Ages was first introduced by Italian humanists in the 14th century, who at the same time established the understanding of their own epoch as an epoch of rebirth ( Renaissance ). From a humanistic point of view, the Middle Ages was a "dark age", an epoch of decay and decline in which the level of development of antiquity was lost, only to become the object of imitation or even surpassing it in its own time through the rediscovery of ancient sources and ancient style norms to become.

The concept of the Middle Ages established itself as an epochal term with a tendency to derogatory meaning. A decidedly positive reassessment, partly connected with nostalgic transfiguration and with the need to determine one's own Christian or national roots and identity, did not emerge until the end of the Enlightenment and especially then in the Romantic era and has been since the end of the 18th century an essential drive for the increased philological and historical preoccupation with the Middle Ages.

Austrian school

Political economy: The term Austrian School (or Vienna School) was initially used by representatives of the historical school and was intended to devalue the circle around Carl Menger as provincial. However, the Austrians soon accepted it themselves and later gladly quoted their opponents polemically, who initially meant themselves positively as the "intellectual bodyguards of the House of Hohenzollern".

Free spirit

Today: Someone who has freed his thinking from the distorting influences of his environment. Originally: a term that was widespread especially in Germany in the 18th century and was rather derogatory at the time for a person who thinks and acts independently of socially established religion.

Cobalt, nickel and tungsten

Cobalt ores have been known for a long time. In the Middle Ages they were often thought of as valuable silver and copper ores. However, as they could not be processed and given off toxic fumes when heated due to the arsenic content, they were viewed as bewitched. Allegedly goblins ate the precious silver and excreted worthless silver-colored ores in its place. These ores were then nicknamed by the miners with nicknames such as nickel, tungsten (such as "wolf spit") and goblin ore, i.e. cobalt.

scientist

" Scientist " was formed in the 18th century as a derogatory term for "science", alongside the neutral expression "scientist", which is now only the common variant in Austria and Switzerland, while "scientist" in Germany completely lost its derogatory connotation Has.

Further improvements

See also

Web links