Make Your Point > Archived Issues > PLEBEIAN
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pronounce
PLEBEIAN:
Say it "pluh BE yun."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
You probably remember this from school: that back in ancient Rome, there were the patricians (the nobles) and the plebeians (the commoners).
That word, plebeian, might trace all the way back to an ancestral root, pele-, meaning "to fill," which would make sense because plebeians filled most of the population. If so, then the word plebeian is related to words like plus, complete, plenty, replenish, plethora ("an abundance"), and r_ple__ ("filled with").
Can you recall that last one? We almost always follow it with the word "with," as in "a trendy neighborhood r_ple__ with art galleries."
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
We took the word "plebeian" from a Latin one meaning "the common people." In ancient Rome, plebeians (or plebes) were the members of the lowest, most ordinary class.
Today, a plebeian is still an average Joe: a person who belongs to the regular, everyday, common mass of people.
"Plebeian" is also an adjective. Something plebeian might simply be related to regular people. But because masses of regular folks tend to get a bad reputation for having low, crude tastes, we also use "plebeian" to mean "low, crude, coarse, and common."
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Both a noun ("a mob of plebeians") and an adjective ("a plebeian mob").
Other common forms:
The plural is "plebeians."
There's a shortened form of the noun, "plebe" (pronounced "PLEEB"), sometimes spelled "pleb," as in "Any day now, the plebes are going to revolt."
Sometimes we use that casual word "plebe" loosely like an adjective, especially in the US military or naval academies, as in "plebe summer."
how to use it:
The formal, semi-common word "plebeian" often sounds snobby and negative, since it comes from ancient Roman history and hints that most folks in society are crude and uneducated.
Still, when the situation calls for it, you might talk about plebeian people, groups, leaders, foods, books, shows, hobbies, interests, etc.
examples:
"In an early scene, we hear plebeians complaining bitterly of their lack of food and railing against the elites."
— Charles Isherwood, New York Times, 30 October 2016
"You're presented with bowls of beef, fish and shrimp in paste form but not expected to do something as plebeian as form your own meatballs."
— Tan Vinh, Seattle Times, 18 April 2019
has this page helped you understand "plebeian"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "plebeian" without saying "lowly" or "pedestrian."
try it out:
In the Washington Post, Megan McArdle describes a beloved old cookbook:
"The Betty Crocker is said to be the most-sold cookbook in American history, and the iconic first edition, with its signature red cover, is the most-used book in my own house. By modern standards, the book is plebeian; it was conceived by General Mills to sell more flour."
With this cookbook in mind as an example, talk about something created for the masses that you find helpful, useful, or entertaining--even though many people would call it plebeian.
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game for January is "Find the Missing Link."
In each chain of words, find the one that's missing from the middle. This missing link, according to a thesaurus, is a synonym of each word on its left and right. But as you'll see, the words on the left and right are most definitely not synonyms!
For example, if I give you "special → _____ → typical," then you answer, "peculiar," because sometimes "peculiar" means "special, different, odd," but other times it means "typical of this, specific to this, distinctively this."
To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Your answer might be different from mine but just as good. Enjoy!
Try this one today:
speak → _____ → hint
review this word:
A. PATRICIAN (noble, upper-class).
B. PAROCHIAL (limited, narrow-minded).
C. PATRONIZING (snobby, looking down on others).
2. In the New Yorker, Louis Menand referred to _____ as "nature's most plebeian foodstuff."
A. caviar
B. quinoa
C. potatoes
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
You probably remember this from school: that back in ancient Rome, there were the patricians (the nobles) and the plebeians (the commoners).
We took the word "plebeian" from a Latin one meaning "the common people." In ancient Rome, plebeians (or plebes) were the members of the lowest, most ordinary class.
Part of speech:
The formal, semi-common word "plebeian" often sounds snobby and negative, since it comes from ancient Roman history and hints that most folks in society are crude and uneducated.
"In an early scene, we hear plebeians complaining bitterly of their lack of food and railing against the elites."
Explain the meaning of "plebeian" without saying "lowly" or "pedestrian."
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
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