profanity (n.)

c. 1600, "profaneness, quality of being profane, profane language or conduct," from Late Latin profanitas "profaneness," from Latin profanus (see profane (adj.)). Extended sense of "foul language" is from Old Testament commandment against "profaning" the name of the Lord. Apparently a rare word before 19c.

Blasphemy, Profanity, agree in expressing the irreverent use of words, but the former is the stronger, and the latter the wider. Profanity is language irreverent toward God or holy things, covering especially all oaths that, literally interpreted, treat lightly the attributes or acts of God. Blasphemy is generally more direct, intentional, and defiant in its impiety, and is directed toward the most sacred things in religion. [Century Dictionary, 1895]

also from c. 1600

Entries linking to profanity

profane (adj.)

mid-15c., prophane, "un-ecclesiastical, secular, not devoted to sacred purposes, unhallowed," from Old French prophane, profane (12c.) and directly from Latin profanus (in Medieval Latin often prophanus) "unholy, not sacred, not consecrated;" of persons "not initiated" (whence, in Late Latin, "ignorant, unlearned"), also "wicked, impious."

According to Lewis & Short, de Vaan, etc., this is from the phrase pro fano, literally "out in front of the temple" (here perhaps with a sense of "not admitted into the temple (with the initiates)," from pro "before" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, before") + fano, ablative of fanum "temple" (from PIE root *dhes-, forming words for religious concepts). The sense of "irreverent toward God or holy things" is from 1550s. Related: Profanely.

*dhes-

*dhēs-, Proto-Indo-European root forming words for religious concepts. Possibly an extension of PIE root *dhe- "to set, put."

It forms all or part of: apotheosis; atheism; atheous; Dorothy; enthusiasm; fair (n.) "a stated market in a town or city;" fanatic; ferial; feast; fedora; -fest; festal; festival; festive; festoon; Festus; fete; fiesta; henotheism; monotheism; pantheism; pantheon; polytheism; profane; profanity; Thea; theism (n.1); -theism; theist; theo-; theocracy; theodicy; Theodore; Theodosia; theogony; theology; theophany; Theophilus; theosophy; theurgy; tiffany; Timothy.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek theos "god;" Latin feriae "holidays," festus "festive," fanum "temple."

Trends of profanity

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

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tinker

damn "something slight and worthless" is from 1824, probably preserving tinkers' reputation for free and casual use of profanity...

blasphemy

"impious or profane speaking of God or sacred things," early 13c., from Old French blasfemie "blasphemy," from Late Latin blasphemia, from Greek blasphēmia "a speaking ill, impious speech, slander," from blasphēmein "to speak evil of." The second element of that is phēmē "utteran

must

auxiliary of prediction, "be obliged, be necessarily impelled," from Old English moste, past tense of motan "have to, be able to," from Proto-Germanic *motanan (source also of Old Saxon motan "to be obliged to, have to," Old Frisian mota, Middle Low German moten, Dutch moeten, Ge

smut

1660s, "black mark, stain," from verb smutten "debase, defile" (late 14c.), later specifically "stain or mark made with soot, etc." (1580s), cognate with Middle High German smotzen "make dirty," from West Germanic *smutt- (source also of Middle High German smuz "grease, dirt;" Ge

oath

Middle English oth, from Old English að "judicial swearing, solemn appeal (to deity, sacred relics, etc.), in witness of truth or a promise," from Proto-Germanic *aithaz (source also of Old Norse eiðr, Swedish ed, Old Saxon, Old Frisian eth, Middle Dutch eet, Dutch eed, German ei

expletive

1610s, "a word or phrase serving to fill out a sentence or metrical line," from French explétif (15c.) and directly from Late Latin expletivus "serving to fill out," from explet- past-participle stem of Latin explere "fill out, fill up, glut," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + ple

box

"rectangular wooden container," usually with a lid, Old English box, also the name of a type of shrub, from Late Latin buxis, from Greek pyxis "boxwood," pyxion "writing table, box," made of boxwood, from pyxos "box tree," which is of uncertain origin. Beekes suggests a loan-word

turkey

1540s, originally "guinea fowl" (Numida meleagris), a bird imported from Madagascar via Turkey, and called guinea fowl when brought by Portuguese traders from West Africa. The larger North American bird (Meleagris gallopavo) was domesticated by the Aztecs, introduced to Spain by

Viking

Scandinavian pirate, 1801, vikingr, in "The History of the Anglo-Saxons" by English historian Sharon H. Turner; he suggested the second element might be connected to king: But this later was dismissed as incorrect. The form viking is attested in 1820, in Jamieson's notes to "The

intuition

mid-15c., intuicioun, "insight, direct or immediate cognition, spiritual perception," originally theological, from Late Latin intuitionem (nominative intuitio) "a looking at, consideration," noun of action from past participle stem of Latin intueri "look at, consider," from in- "

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updated on November 29, 2020

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