derogate
/ˈdɛɹəɡeɪt/
"derogate" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“derogate” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To partially repeal (a law etc.).
Corpus desk
Index EN-derogate · derogate · English
derogate · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | derogate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈdɛɹəɡeɪt/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “derogate” in English
Rare enough to double-check
derogate is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈdɛɹəɡeɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for derogate, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Late Middle English derogaten, from derogat(e) (“annulled, abrogated”, used participially and later as the past participle of derogaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix) borrowed from Latin dērogātus, perfect passive participle of dērogō (“to annu… The correct English form is derogate, spelled D-E-R-O-G-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To partially repeal (a law etc.).
- 2To detract from (something); to disparage, belittle.
- 3To take away (something from something else) in a way which leaves it lessened.
- 4To detract from (a quality of excellence, authority etc.).
- 5To act in a manner below oneself; to debase oneself.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how derogate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
By several contrary customs, […] many of the civil and canon laws are controlled and derogated.
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 [...].
Etymology
Inherited from Late Middle English derogaten, from derogat(e) (“annulled, abrogated”, used participially and later as the past participle of derogaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix) borrowed from Latin dērogātus, perfect passive participle of dērogō (“to annul, repeal part of a law, take away, detract from”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from dē- (“from”) + rogō (“to ask, enquire; to propose a law”). Sporadic participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.