Pejoration
The process by which a word's meaning becomes more negative over time. Pejoration shows how word meanings decline.
Real World
The word 'villain' originally simply meant 'farm worker' (from Latin 'villa'), but through class-based attitudes in medieval England, it pejorated to mean 'wicked person' — reflecting social prejudice embedded in language.
Exam Focus
Link pejoration to external social factors (attitudes, class, gender bias) to access the highest analytical marks.
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