derogate

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English

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WOTD – 24 June 2011

Etymology

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From Late Middle English derogaten, borrowed from (the participle stem of) Latin dērogāre (“to annul, repeal part of a law, take away, detract from”), from de- (“from”) + rogāre (“to propose a law, ask”). Compare abrogate, arrogate, interrogate.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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derogate (third-person singular simple present derogates, present participle derogating, simple past and past participle derogated)

  1. (obsolete, transitive) To partially repeal (a law etc.). [16th–17th c.]
    • 1713, Matthew Hale, A History and Analysis of the Common Law of England:
      By several contrary customs, […] many of the civil and canon laws are controlled and derogated.
  2. (transitive) To detract from (something); to disparage, belittle. [from 16th c.]
    • 1642, John Milton, An Apology for Smectymnuus:
      I never thought the human frailty of erring in cases of religion, infamy to a state, no more than to a council: it had therefore been neither civil nor christianly, to derogate the honour of the state for that cause [...].
    • 1999, Ziva Kunda, Social Cognition, page 222:
      When the need for self-affirmation is satisfied through other means, one is less compelled to derogate members of negatively stereotyped groups.
    • 2001, Russell Cropanzano, Justice in the Workplace, volume II, page 104:
      Bandura (1990) gave a related example of gas chamber operators in Nazi prison camps, who found it necessary to derogate and dehumanize their victims rather than become overwhelmed by distress.
  3. (transitive, intransitive) To take away (something from something else) in a way which leaves it lessened. [from 16th c.]
  4. (intransitive) To remove a part, to detract from (a quality of excellence, authority etc.). [from 16th c.]
    • 1857, Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers, Volume the Second, →ISBN, page 147:
      In doing so she had derogated from her dignity and committed herself.
    • 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.19:
      God does not have the attributes of a Christian Providence, for it would derogate from His perfection to think about anything except what is perfect, i.e. Himself.
    • 1967 December 5, “The undoing of Dodd”, in Time:
      The six-member Committee on Standards and Conduct unanimously recommended that the Senate censure the Connecticut Democrat for behavior that is "contrary to good morals, derogates from the public trust expected of a Senator, and tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute."
  5. (intransitive) To act in a manner below oneself; to debase oneself. [from 17th c.]
    • 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
      CLOTEN. Is it fit I went to look upon him? Is there no derogation in't?
      SECOND LORD. You cannot derogate, my lord.
    • 1830 August, William Hazlitt, edited by P.P. Howe, The Complete Works of William Hazlitt‎[1], published 1967, page 302:
      Would Charles X. derogate from his ancestors? Would he be the degenerate scion of that royal line?

Usage notes

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The verb is relatively uncommon, but the related adjective derogatory is common.

Synonyms

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  • decry
  • (to disparage, belittle): vilify
  • (to detract from (a quality of excellence, authority etc.)): abase

Antonyms

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  • (antonym(s) of “to disparage, belittle”): praise
  • (antonym(s) of “to detract from (a quality of excellence, authority etc.)”): exalt

Derived terms

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Translations

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Adjective

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derogate (comparative more derogate, superlative most derogate)

  1. (archaic) debased
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Anagrams

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Italian

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Verb

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derogate

  1. inflection of derogare:
    1. second-person plural present indicative
    2. second-person plural imperative

Latin

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Verb

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dērogāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of dērogō

Spanish

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Verb

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derogate

  1. second-person singular voseo imperative of derogar combined with te
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