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plebeian

 
(plĭ-bē'ən) pronunciation
adj.
  1. Of or relating to the common people of ancient Rome: a plebeian magistrate.
  2. Of, belonging to, or characteristic of commoners.
  3. Unrefined or coarse in nature or manner; common or vulgar: plebeian tastes.
n.
  1. One of the common people of ancient Rome.
  2. A member of the lower classes.
  3. A vulgar or coarse person.

[From Latin plēbius, from plēbs, plēb-, the common people.]

plebeianism ple·be'ian·ism n.
plebeianly ple·be'ian·ly adv.

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(Latin, plebs) Member of the general citizenry, as opposed to the patrician class, in the ancient Roman republic. Plebeians were originally excluded from the Senate and from all public offices except military tribune, and they were forbidden to marry patricians. Seeking to acquire equal rights, they carried on a campaign called Conflict of the Orders, developing a separate political organization and seceding in protest from the state at least five times. The campaign ceased when a plebeian dictator (appointed 287 BC) made measures passed in the plebeian assembly binding on the whole community.

For more information on plebeian, visit Britannica.com.

Roget's Thesaurus:

plebeian

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adjective

    Lacking high station or birth: baseborn, common, déclassé, declassed, humble, ignoble, lowly, mean2, unwashed, vulgar. Archaic base2. See over/under.

noun

    The common people. common (used in plural), commonality, commonalty, commoner (used in plural), crowd, hoi polloi, mass (used in plural), mob, pleb (used in plural), populace, public, ruck1, third estate. See over/under.


adj

Definition: base, lower-class
Antonyms: aristocratic, cultivated, noble, refined, rich, upper-class, wealthy

n

Definition: person of lower class
Antonyms: aristocrat, noble, patrician, rich, wealthy

Devil's Dictionary:

plebeian

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A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce


n.

An ancient Roman who in the blood of his country stained nothing but his hands. Distinguished from the Patrician, who was a saturated solution.


Word Tutor:

plebeian

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Having to do with common people; popular. In ancient Roman society, a member of the class of commoners.

pronunciation The patrician citizens of Roman society had more privileges than the plebeian citizens.

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Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'plebeian'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to plebeian, see:

Translations:

Plebeian

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - plebejer
adj. - plebejisk

Nederlands (Dutch)
plebejer, onadellijke, plebejisch, man uit het volk

Français (French)
n. - (Hist) plébéien (péj)
adj. - plébéien

Deutsch (German)
n. - Plebejer
adj. - plebejisch

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - πληβείος, κοινός θνητός, λαϊκάντζα
adj. - πληβείος, αγροίκος

Italiano (Italian)
plebeo

Português (Portuguese)
n., -
adj. - plebeu

Русский (Russian)
плебей, плебейский, простой

Español (Spanish)
n. - plebeyo
adj. - plebeyo, vulgar, común, ordinario, bajo, uno de la plebe

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - plebej, underklassare
adj. - underklassig, simpel

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
平民, 大众, 庶民, 平民的, 普通的, 一般的

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 平民, 大眾, 庶民
adj. - 平民的, 普通的, 一般的

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 평민, 대중
adj. - 평민의, 하층 계급의, 비천한

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 平民, 大衆
adj. - 平民の, 大衆の, 低俗な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) العمي الروماني, أحد العامه (صفه) عامي, خشن, مبتذل, عادي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮נחות-מעמד, פשוט-עם, גס, פלבאי‬
adj. - ‮נחות-מעמד, פשוט-עם, גס‬


 
 
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villotta
pleb
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Copyrights:

American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Roget's Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Answers Corporation Antonyms by Answers.com. © 1999-present by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Devil's Dictionary. Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce, 1911  Read more
Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved.
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Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
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