English

Alternative forms

• plebian

Adjective

plebeian ‎(comparative more plebeian, superlative most plebeian)

1. Of or pertaining to the Roman plebs, or common people.
2. Of or pertaining to the common people; vulgar; common.

   plebeian sports

   They were all from the ghetto, a plebeian throng.

   • 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

Antonyms

• (of or pertaining to the common people): noble, aristocratic

Translations

Noun

plebeian ‎(plural plebeians)

1. One of the plebs, or common people of ancient Rome, in distinction from patrician.
2. (archaic) One of the common people, or lower rank of men.
   • 1748. David Hume. Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral. London: Oxford University Press, 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.

Synonyms

• (one of the plebs): commoner, pleb
• (one of the common people): commoner

Antonyms

• (one of the plebs): patrician
• (one of the common people): noble, aristocrat

Derived terms

• pleb

Translations