Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2016 July 11

= July 11 =

Plebian and plebeian
Could you please explain the difference between these two words, with a couple of examples of usage.

I've looked at other site explanations, and I still don't understand. Something about noun/adjective, but, it's very confusing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.20.193.222 (talk) 23:08, 11 July 2016 (UTC)
 * This indicates the noun and adjective are spelled the same way. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 23:46, 11 July 2016 (UTC)
 * I have never considered the spelling, but the American (academic) pronunciation is /plə-'bi-ən/, not /'plɛ-bi-ən/. That is, pluh-BEE-uhn, never PLEE/PLEH-bee-uhn. I am not sure the normal American usage makes much sense in the face of Latin phonology. μηδείς (talk) 00:55, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

I think "plebian" is simply an error, or at best a rarely used alternate spelling. It's not listed in most of the online dictionaries available through www.onelook.com; if you search for it in the OED Online, it redirects you to "plebeian", where "plebian" is listed as a "now rare" spelling. --69.159.60.163 (talk) 04:11, 12 July 2016 (UTC)


 * The Oxford English Dictionary (second edition, 2001) gives three noun and three adjective uses.  There is also the rare verb "plebify".   "Plebian" is not listed. 194.66.226.95 (talk) 09:29, 12 July 2016 (UTC)


 * WHAAOE plebeian. 86.168.123.201 (talk) 13:14, 12 July 2016 (UTC)