Both Uses of
plebeian
in
The Scarlet Letter
- Deep ruffs, painfully wrought bands, and gorgeously embroidered gloves, were all deemed necessary to the official state of men assuming the reins of power, and were readily allowed to individuals dignified by rank or wealth, even while sumptuary laws forbade these and similar extravagances to the plebeian order.†
p. 57.8 *
- It was already thronged with the craftsmen and other plebeian inhabitants of the town, in considerable numbers, among whom, likewise, were many rough figures, whose attire of deer-skins marked them as belonging to some of the forest settlements, which surrounded the little metropolis of the colony.†
p. 152.1
Definition:
of or belonging to common people -- often implying a lack of refinement
or:
an ordinary citizen of ancient Rome
or:
an ordinary citizen of ancient Rome