Do You Know: Honorific and Pejorative?

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Honorific

An honorific is a word or expression that conveys esteem or respect and is used in addressing or referring to a person. "Honorific" may refer broadly to the style of language or particular words used, or, as in this article, to specific words used to convey honor to one perceived as a social superior. Sometimes the term is used not quite correctly to refer to a title of honour (honorary title.)

Honorifics are usually placed immediately before or after the name of the subject. They may also be used to denote occupation, such as "Doctor", "Coach", "Father" (for a priest), or "Professor". Some honorifics can act as complete replacements for a name, as in "sir" or "ma'am". Subordinates will often use honorifics as punctuation before asking a superior a question or after responding to an order, "Yes, sir".

"honorific." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 2005. Answers.com 18 Oct. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/honorific

Pejorative
A word or phrase is pejorative if it implies contempt or disapproval. The adjective pejorative is synonymous with derogatory and dyslogistic (noun: dyslogism) (antonyms: meliorative, eulogistic, noun eulogism). Dyslogisms such as "pea-brain" and "bottom-feeder" are words and phrases essentially pejorative by their nature. Although pejorative (adj.) means much the same thing as disparaging, the latter term may be applied to a look or gesture as well as to — in the evocative language of gesture, it may not be easy to distinguish a disparaging gesture from a dismissive or merely skeptical one, however.

Pejorative expressions that are not dyslogisms may also be used in a non-pejorative way, however, and determining the intent of the speaker is problematic — as with any implied meaning. Conversely, a common rhetorical ploy is to apply "pejorative" to a factual descriptor — as "toxic" might be applied to poison mdash; and then decry it as "pejorative" to suit the agenda of those defending the substance as harmless.

Not every breath of criticism is pejorative.

"pejorative." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 2005. Answers.com 18 Oct. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/pejorative