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plebeian

ple·beian

UK/pliˈbiːən/ US/plɛbˈiːən/ uncommon

adjective

1.

of the common people of ancient Rome

  • “a plebeian magistrate”
2.

of or associated with the great masses of people

  • “the common people in those days suffered greatly”
  • “behavior that branded him as common”
  • “his square plebeian nose”
  • “a vulgar and objectionable person”
  • “the unwashed masses”
Similar

noun

1.

one of the common people

Synonyms

Origin

From Latin plēbēius (“a commoner; common”) + -an (adjective-forming suffix), from Latin plēbēs + -ius (adjective-forming suffix), possibly under the influence of Middle French plebeyen, plebein, plebien (“a commoner”) and plebeien (“concerning the common people”). Cf. Medieval Latin plēbēiānus (“a commoner”), from plēbēius + -ānus.

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Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.