# plebeian
## English
### Alternative forms

* plebian
* plebeyan, plebean, plebeane, plebien (obsolete)

### Etymology

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.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pliˈbiːən/, /plɛbˈiːən/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -iːən

### Noun

plebeian (plural plebeians)
* (historical, Ancient Rome) A member of the plebs, the common citizens of ancient Rome.
    Synonyms: commoner, pleb, plebe
    Antonym: patrician
** 1533, John Bellenden translating Livy, History of Rome, Vol. II, Ch. iv, Sect. ii:
    Na plebeane will tak þe dochter of ane patriciane but hir consent.
* A commoner, particularly (derogatory) a low, vulgar person.
    Synonyms: commoner, villain, peasant, nobody
    Antonyms: noble, aristocrat
** c. 1550, Robert Wedderburn, The Complaynt of Scotlande..., Ch. xv, p. 102:
    There blude... vald hef na bettir cullour nor the blude of ane plebien or of ane mecanik craftis man.
** 1748, David Hume, Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral., London: Oxford University Press, published 1973, § 3:The feelings of our heart, the agitation of our passions, the vehemence of our affections, dissipate all its conclusions, and reduce the profound philosopher to a mere plebeian.

#### Derived terms

* pleb

#### Related terms

* plebe, plebs, plebeiance, plebeianism, plebeity, plebeiate

#### Translations
### Adjective

plebeian (comparative more plebeian, superlative most plebeian)
* (historical) Of or concerning the plebs, the common citizens of ancient Rome.
** 1566, William Painter, The Palace of Pleasure Beautified, Vol. I, Ch. iv, fol. 9 verso:
    To what purpose be the plebeian Magistrates ordeined?
* Of or concerning the common people.
** 1602, William Watson, A Decacordon of Ten Quodlibeticall Questions, page 301:...priuate person or plebian multitude...
* Common, particularly (derogatory) vulgar, crude, coarse, uncultured.
** 1615, Robert Armin, The Valiant Welshman, Vol. i, Ch. i, sig. B:
    For to plebeyan wits, it is as good, As to be silent, as not vnderstood.
** 1953, Arthur Hamilton (lyrics and music), “Cry Me a River”:[…] told me love was too plebeian / told me you were through with me
** 2016 September 8, Andrew Cunningham, “The $10,000 golden Apple Watch is no more”, in Arstechnica‎:Completely absent was any mention of the Apple Watch Edition branding, which Apple used last year to launch a pair of $10,000-and-up Apple Watches that worked the same way as the cheap ones but were made out of actual gold instead of workaday, plebeian metals.

#### Synonyms

* (of or pertaining to the common people): vulgar, common, popular

#### Antonyms

* (antonym(s) of “of or pertaining to the common people”): noble, aristocratic

#### Derived terms

* plebeianize
* plebeianly
* plebeianness

#### Translations
### Further reading

* “plebeian”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* “plebeian, n. and adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2006.

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French plébéien. By surface analysis, plebe +‎ -ian.

### Adjective

plebeian m or n (feminine singular plebeiană, masculine plural plebeieni, feminine and neuter plural plebeiene)
* plebeian