Definition of a swear word

Last Updated:
2 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences

A swear word is a word or phrase that’s generally considered blasphemous, obscene, vulgar, or otherwise offensive. These are also called bad words, obscenities, expletives, dirty words, profanities, and four-letter words. The act of using a swear word is known as swearing or cursing.

«Swear words serve many different functions in different social contexts,» notes Janet Holmes. «They may express annoyance, aggression and insult, for instance, or they may express solidarity and friendliness,» (Holmes 2013).

Etymology

From Old English, «take an oath.»

Swearing in Media

Profanities in today’s society are about as ubiquitous as air, but here is an example from media nonetheless.

Spock: Your use of language has altered since our arrival. It is currently laced with, shall we say, more colorful metaphors, «double dumbass on you,» and so forth.
Captain Kirk: Oh, you mean the profanity?
Spock: Yes.
Captain Kirk: Well, that’s simply the way they talk here. Nobody pays any attention to you unless you swear every other word. You’ll find it in all the literature of the period, (Nimoy and Shatner, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home).

Why Swear?

If using swear words is considered offensive or wrong, why do people do it? As it turns out, there are many reasons that people might choose to pepper their language with colorful curse words, and profanity actually serves a few meaningful roles in society. Here’s what the experts have to say about why, when, and how people swear.

Uses of Swear Words

«A final puzzle about swearing is the crazy range of circumstances in which we do it,» begins Steven Pinker. «There is cathartic swearing, as when we hit our thumb with a hammer or knock over a glass of beer. There are imprecations, as when we suggest a label or offer advice to someone who has cut us off in traffic. There are vulgar terms for everyday things and activities, as when Bess Truman was asked to get the president to say fertilizer instead of manure and she replied, ‘You have no idea how long it took me to get him to say manure.’

There are figures of speech that put obscene words to other uses, such as the barnyard epithet for insincerity, the army acronym snafu, and the gynecological-flagellative term for uxorial dominance. And then there are the adjective-like expletives that salt the speech and split the words of soldiers, teenagers, Australians, and others affecting a breezy speech style,» (Pinker 2007).

Social Swearing

«Why do we swear? The answer to this question depends on the approach you take. As a linguist—not a psychologist, neurologist, speech pathologist or any other -ist—I see swearing as meaningfully patterned verbal behaviour that readily lends itself to a functional analysis. Pragmatically, swearing can be understood in terms of the meanings it is taken to have and what it achieves in any particular circumstance. …
Typically, a social swear word originates as one of the ‘bad’ words but becomes conventionalised in a recognisably social form. Using swear words as loose intensifiers contributes to the easy-going, imprecise nature of informal talk among in-group members. … In sum, this is jokey, cruisy, relaxing talk in which participants oil the wheels of their connection as much by how they talk as what they talk about,»
(Wajnryb 2004).

Secular Swearing

Swearing, like any other feature of language, is subject to change over time. «[I]t would appear that in Western society the major shifts in the focus of swearing have been from religious matters (more especially the breaching of the commandment against taking the Lord’s name in vain) to sexual and bodily functions, and from opprobrious insults, such as coolie and kike. Both of these trends reflect the increasing secularization of Western society,» (Hughes 1991).

What Makes a Word Bad?

So how does a word become bad? Author George Carlin raises the point that most bad words are chosen rather arbitrarily: «There are four hundred thousand words in the English language and there are seven of them you can’t say on television. What a ratio that is! Three hundred ninety-three thousand nine hundred and ninety-three … to seven! They must really be bad. They’d have to be outrageous to be separated from a group that large. ‘All of you over here … You seven, you bad words.’ … That’s what they told us, you remember? ‘That’s a bad word.’ What? There are no bad words. Bad thoughts, bad intentions, but no bad words,» (Carlin 2009).

David Cameron’s ‘Jokey, Blokey Interview’

Just because many people swear doesn’t mean that swear words aren’t still controversial. Former British Prime Minister David Cameron once proved in a casual interview how quickly conversations can turn sour when swear words are used and lines between what’s acceptable and what’s not are blurred.

«David Cameron’s jokey, blokey interview … on Absolute Radio this morning is a good example of what can happen when politicians attempt to be down with the kids—or in this case, with the thirtysomethings. … Asked why he didn’t use the social networking website Twitter, the Tory leader said: ‘The trouble with Twitter, the instantness of it—too many twits might make a twat.’ … [T]he Tory leader’s aides were in defensive mode afterwards, pointing out that ‘twat’ was not a swear word under radio guidelines,» (Siddique 2009).

Censoring Swear Words

In an effort to use swear words without offending, many writers and publications will replace some or most of the letters in a bad word with asterisks or dashes. Charlotte Brontë argued years ago that this serves little purpose. «[N]ever use asterisks, or such silliness as b——, which are just a cop-out, as Charlotte Brontë recognised: ‘The practice of hinting by single letters those expletives with which profane and violent people are wont to garnish their discourse, strikes me as a proceeding which, however well-meant, is weak and futile. I cannot tell what good it does—what feeling it spares—what horror it conceals,'» (Marsh and Hodsdon 2010).

Supreme Court Rulings on Swear Words

When public figures are heard using especially vulgar expletives, the law will sometimes get involved. The Supreme Court has ruled on indecency countless times, spanning many decades and multiple occasions, though often brought to the court by the Federal Communications Commission. It seems that there aren’t clear rules as to whether the public use of swear words, though generally deemed wrong, should be punished. See what New York Times author Adam Liptak has to say about it.

«The Supreme Court’s last major case concerning broadcast indecency, F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation in 1978, upheld the commission’s determination that George Carlin’s classic ‘seven dirty words’ monologue, with its deliberate, repetitive and creative use of vulgarities, was indecent. But the court left open the question of whether the use of ‘an occasional expletive’ could be punished.

Metaphorical Suggestion

The case…Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, No. 07-582, arose from two appearances by celebrities on the Billboard Music Awards. … Justice Scalia read the passages at issue from the bench, though he substituted suggestive shorthand for the dirty words. The first involved Cher, who reflected on her career in accepting an award in 2002: ‘I’ve also had critics for the last 40 years saying I was on my way out every year. Right. So F-em.’ (In his opinion, Justice Scalia explained that Cher ‘metaphorically suggested a sexual act as a means of expressing hostility to her critics.’)

The second passage came in an exchange between Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie in 2003 in which Ms. Richie discussed in vulgar terms the difficulties in cleaning cow manure off a Prada purse. Reversing its policy on such fleeting expletives, the commission said in 2006 that both broadcasts were indecent. It did not matter, the commission said, that some of the offensive words did not refer directly to sexual or excretory functions. Nor did it matter that the cursing was isolated and apparently impromptu.

Change in Policy

In reversing that decision, Justice Scalia said the change in policy was rational and therefore permissible. ‘It was certainly reasonable,’ he wrote, ‘to determine that it made no sense to distinguish between literal and nonliteral uses of offensive words, requiring repetitive use to render only the latter indecent.’

Justice John Paul Stevens, dissenting, wrote that not every use of a swear word connoted the same thing. ‘As any golfer who has watched his partner shank a short approach knows,’ Justice Stevens wrote, ‘it would be absurd to accept the suggestion that the resultant four-letter word uttered on the golf course describes sex or excrement and is therefore indecent.’

‘It is ironic, to say the least,’ Justice Stevens went on, ‘that while the F.C.C. patrols the airwaves for words that have a tenuous relationship with sex or excrement, commercials broadcast during prime-time hours frequently ask viewers whether they are battling erectile dysfunction or are having trouble going to the bathroom,'» (Liptak 2009).

The Lighter Side of Swear Words

Swearing doesn’t always have to be so serious. In fact, swear words are often used in comedy like this:

«‘Tell me, son,’ the anxious mother said, ‘what did your father say when you told him you’d wrecked his new Corvette?’
«‘Shall I leave out the swear words?’ the son asked.
«‘Of course.’
«‘He didn’t say anything,'» (Allen 2000).

Sources

• Allen, Steve. Steve Allen’s Private Joke File. Three Rivers Press, 2000.
• Carlin, George, and Tony Hendra. Last Words. Simon & Schuster, 2009.
• Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. 4th ed., Routledge, 2013.
• Hughes, Geoffrey. Swearing: A Social History of Foul Language, Oaths and Profanity in English. Blackwell, 1991.
• Liptak, Adam. «Supreme Court Upholds F.C.C.’s Shift to a Harder Line on Indecency on the Air.» The New York Times, 28 Apr. 2009.
• Marsh, David, and Amelia Hodsdon. Guardian Style. 3rd ed. Guardian Books, 2010.
• Pinker, Steven. The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window Into Human Nature. Viking, 2007.
• Siddique, Haroon. «Sweary Cameron Illustrates Dangers of Informal Interview.» The Guardian, 29 July 2009.
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Dir. Leonard Nimoy. Paramount Pictures, 1986.
• Wajnryb, Ruth. Language Most Foul. Allen & Unwin, 2004.

Also found in: Thesaurus, Wikipedia.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

swear word

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

kirosana

pogrdapsovka

kletvica

svärordsvordom

References in classic literature
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«I’m going to invent a swear word of my own,» he declared.

‘most half a dozen — and — and — I — I said a swear word, Anne — a pretty near swear word, anyhow — and I called God names.»

He wrote a lot of things that weren’t true, just like Valeria, and he wrote swear words too.

Mr Verloc tying up the cardboard box into a parcel for the post, broke the string by an injudicious jerk, and muttered several swear words confidentially to himself.

In my opinion, every day viewers hear far worse words than the ‘F’ word, words like cancer, war and famine are a million times more frightening than any harmless swear word.

Based on Table 1, it can be seen that the type of swear word that was mostly used by Jordan Belfort, as the main character in The Wolf of Wall Street movie, was emphatic swearing (E), namely the use of swear words to convey a stronger emotion, followed by abusive swearing (A).

Anew study has revealed that the majority of British children have already said their first swear word by the age of four — with parents saying rude TV shows are mostly to blame.

Stephens to further investigate whether the power of swearing could be emulated by a new ‘socially acceptable’ swear word. The panel of experts developed two novel words for the experiment — ‘twizpipe’ and ‘fouch’ — to see if the public could use them in moments of pain instead of turning the air blue.

The president directed the same swear word atBarack Obama, US president at the time, in 2016.

Back Hye-ryun said the party will sue the far-rightist lawmaker for slander, over his swear word against President Moon.

So the idea is that if it’s a second language use of a swear word, it will never have the same emotional resonance as it does in a first language.

Countdown viewers were left tittering in front of their TVs when a swear word cropped up during the show.

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• Arabic: بَذَاءَة‎ f (baḏāʔa), شَتِيمَة‎ f (šatīma), سُبَّة‎ f (subba)
• Armenian: հայհոյանք (hy) (hayhoyankʿ), քֆուր (kʿfur)
• Belarusian: ла́янкавае сло́ва n (lájankavaje slóva), мацю́к m (macjúk)
• Bikol Central: muda (bcl), raway (bcl)
• Bulgarian: кле́тва (bg) f (klétva)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 粗口 (cou¹ hau²)

  Mandarin: 粗話／粗话 (zh) (cūhuà), 髒字／脏字 (zh) (zāngzì), 三字經／三字经 (zh) (sānzìjīng) («Three Character Classic»), 罵人話／骂人话 (màrénhuà), 髒話／脏话 (zh) (zānghuà)

• Czech: sprosté slovo, nadávka (cs) f
• Danish: bandeord n, ed (da) c, kraftudtryk n
• Dutch: vloek (nl) m, scheldwoord (nl) n, krachtterm (nl), verwensing (nl)
• Esperanto: fivorto
• Finnish: kirosana (fi)
• French: juron (fr) m, gros mot (fr) m
• Galician: xuramento (gl) m
• Georgian: საგინებელი სიტყვა (saginebeli siṭq̇va), სალანძღავი სიტყვა (salanʒɣavi siṭq̇va)
• German: Schimpfwort (de) n, Fluch (de) m, Kraftausdruck (de) m, Schimpfwort (de) n
• Greek: βρισιά (el) f (vrisiá)
• Hebrew: קְלָלָה‎ (he) f (klole)
• Hindi: गाली (hi) f (gālī)
• Hungarian: csúnya szó, káromkodás (hu), szitok (hu), szitokszó, trágárság, szitkozódás
• Icelandic: blótsyrði (is) n
• Indonesian: kata makian, makian (id), umpatan (id), kata-kata kasar
• Ingrian: kerosana
• Irish: eascaine (ga) f, mionn mór m, tiomna (ga) m, crístín m, diairmín m
• Italian: parolaccia (it) f
• Japanese: 卑語 (ja) (ひ​ご, higo), 罵り言葉 (ののしりことば, nonoshiri kotoba)
• Javanese: pisuhan
• Kapampangan: panagkas
• Korean: 비어 (ko) (bieo), 욕설 (ko) (yokseol), 욕 (ko) (yok)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: sixêf (ku), dijûn (ku), dijmîn (ku), xeber (ku), çêrr (ku), zêf (ku), zêv (ku), mirqî (ku), kufrî (ku)

• Macedonian: пцост f (pcost), пцовка f (pcovka)
• Malayalam: തെറി (ml) (teṟi)
• Maori: kohukohu
• Norwegian: ed (no) m, kraftuttrykk (no) n

  Bokmål: kraftuttrykk (no) n, banneord (no) n

  Nynorsk: bannord n

• Persian: فحش‎ (fa) (fohš), دشنام‎ (došnâm)
• Plautdietsch: Schempwuat n
• Polish: przekleństwo (pl) n
• Portuguese: palavrão (pt) m
• Romanian: înjurătură (ro) f
• Russian: руга́тельство (ru) n (rugátelʹstvo), руга́тельное сло́во n (rugátelʹnoje slóvo), неприли́чное сло́во n (neprilíčnoje slóvo), бра́нное сло́во n (bránnoje slóvo), сло́во из трёх бу́кв n (slóvo iz trjóx búkv), сло́во на три бу́квы n (slóvo na tri búkvy), трёхэта́жное сло́во n (trjoxɛtážnoje slóvo), матю́к (ru) m (matjúk) (low colloquial, usually plural), матю́г (ru) m (matjúg) (low colloquial, usually plural)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: псо̑вка f, по̏грда f

  Roman: psȏvka (sh) f, pȍgrda (sh) f

• Slovak: nadávka f
• Slovene: psovka (sl) f
• Spanish: palabrota (es) f, (Chile) garabato (es) m, (Latin America) grosería (es) f, (Peru) lisura (es) f, (Latin America) mala palabra (es) f, (Spain) taco (es) m, palabro (es), ordinariez (es) f
• Swedish: svordom (sv) c, svärord (sv) n (colloquial), kraftuttryck (sv) n
• Tajik: дашном (dašnom), фӯҳш (fühš), ҳақорат (haqorat)
• Tagalog: alpog, mura
• Tamil: கெட்ட வார்த்தை (ta) (keṭṭa vārttai)
• Telugu: తిట్టు (te) (tiṭṭu), బూతు (te) (būtu)
• Thai: คำสบถ
• Turkish: küfür (tr)
• Ukrainian: лайли́ве сло́во n (lajlýve slóvo), матю́к (uk) m (matjúk)
• Welsh: llw m

A swear word or curse word (scientifically also: Maledictum , mostly in the plural: Maledicta ) is a word that gives a person (less often: an object) a (strongly) derogatory meaning ( pejorative ) and in this way offends or belittles them .

From a linguistic point of view , swear words belong to the rhetorical stylistic devices used in spoken or written texts. They can be assigned to specific stylistic devices such as dysphemism , pejoration , sarcasm or antiphrasis (see list of rhetorical stylistic devices ).

Problems of definition

The sub-discipline of linguistics that deals with the ranting busy and using foul — the maledictology  — is still poorly developed. To this day, there are only circumscriptions, but no definition of the term «swear word» generally accepted among linguists . Although it is hardly disputed that the majority of swear words are nouns and adjectives , linguists still do not agree on which types of words are possible and whether idioms can also be swear words. If swear words are viewed from a purely lexical point of view or only with regard to their denotation , they evade definition, because many of them can be used in an offensive way as well as in a neutral way (example: pig ). A harmless teasing or even caressing use is conceivable (example: you monkey ). Although many words regularly have the connotation of a swear word (example: fagot ), in other cases parilingual ( tone of voice ), body language ( facial expressions , gestures ), syntactic and contextual elements must also be taken into account.

In order to take account of these difficulties, Reinhold Aman proposed a very broad definition: Any word that is used aggressively is a dirty word.

Definition of terms

The swear word must be distinguished from the following similar types of words:

• A vulgarism is coarse, vulgar, obscene, and thus violated the sense of shame. Many swear words are also vulgarisms (example: wanker ); other swear words lack the element of vulgarity (example: cardboard nose ). Conversely, vulgarisms that are not aimed at an insult are not swear words (example: cold as ass ).
• Discriminatory swear words can be found in the German-speaking world, for example, as racist , chauvinist , sexist and homophobic degradation, as well as swear words that discriminate against people because of their belief or because of a disability . A discriminatory term against ethnic groups is also called ethnophaulism . Swear words of this kind are often associated with stereotyping of groups.
• A curse word can fulfill two different functions: 1. As a strong expression, it does not so much express an intention to insult as anger, disappointment, astonishment or surprise (example: shit! ). 2. In relation to a person (less often: an object), it forms a curse , ie expresses the wish that something should happen to someone (example: go to the devil! ).
• A blasphemy is the sneer of certain beliefs of a religion. Blasphemous curse and power words (example: ital. Porco dio , «God [is] pig» corresponds approximately to the German interjections accursed , dammit! ) Are particularly widespread in traditionally Catholic cultures.

Derogatory meanings

Pollution, body excretion and disgust

Numerous swearwords denigrate the person being abused by associating him with pollution or the organs or products of excretion or calling him disgusting. In German , many swear words are formed from words like dirt , dirt , scum , crap , shit , ass , piss , disgust or puke (examples: asshole , shit , bastard ). The use of such expressions is called coprolalia . In English this corresponds to swear words like asshole , shit bag and old fart (= «old fart»), in French z. B. salaud and merde (the latter in the sense of: repugnant person ). In Italian , the word stronzo , which originally referred to a solid, cylindrical piece of dung, is used in the sense of «idiot». In Chinese , many swear words are derived from the word sǐ (死, dead, vicious, stinking), e.g. B. sǐ pì yǎn (死 屁眼, analogously: «cursed asshole») or sǐ sānbā (死 三八, «stinking bitch»).

Sexual meanings

Many swear words bring the person abused in connection with genitals (examples: cunt , baggy face ). In Italian, this corresponds to terms like faccia di cazzo («tail face»), testa di cazzo («tail head»), faccia di culo («ass face») or coglione («testicle»). In Chinese, the swear word shǎbī (傻 屄, stupid vagina) means “stupid person”, chòubī (臭 屄) means “smelly cunt”, and zhuāngbī (装 屄 / 裝 屄, pretending to be a vagina) so much like «show off».

Swear words derived from sexual acts ( wankers , cocksuckers ) are just as common . Many swear words refer to people as a homosexual ( queer , homo ) or transsexual ( tranny , cock woman ). Social groups that are stigmatized with such swearwords occasionally coin these words until they are value-neutral ( Geusenwort ; examples: gay , English queer ).

Pejorative are also words that associate the person with promiscuity or prostitution ( whore [today tends to be a Geusen word ], hooker , slut , whore buck ). In Chinese there is e.g. B. the swear word chòu biǎozi (臭 婊子, smelly whore). Women with changing sexual partners are called húli jīng (狐狸精, fox spirit, vixen), sānbā (三八, literally: 3-8 = March 8 = International Women’s Day , analogously: stupid, loudmouth , slut), gōng gòng qì chē (公共汽车 / 公共汽車, literally: “public bus”), biǎozi (婊子, whore) or jiàn nǚ rén (贱女人, cheap woman, bitch) insulted.

Other swear words bring the person referred to in connection with passively suffered adultery ( cuckold ) or with an illegitimate birth ( bastard ). In Chinese u. a. spread the swear word wángbā (王八, bastard).

In Spanish , as in Italian, “the family, virility in particular, and sexuality in general are targeted”. Apart from hijo de puta ( «son of a bitch»), there is, especially in Mexico , numerous derivatives and combinations of the verb chingar which also has, among other meanings of «fuck» about: chinga tu madre ( «fuck your mother») or hijo de la chingada («Son of the Fucked»).

Animal names

If the person referred to is given a (possibly invented) animal name ( animal metaphor ), then he is not only denied humanity or human dignity ( dehumanization ), but also the derogatory meanings of the animal concerned. The pejorative meanings with which individual animal species are assigned are culturally determined:

• The domestic pig is considered an unclean animal in German. This results in swear words such as pig , turnip pig , bastard or, more mildly: piglet .




• While the domestic goat is viewed in German as an unruly, stubborn animal ( Zicke ), the Spanish swear word cabrón (» billy goat») corresponds roughly to the German expression «asshole».
• The house dog stands in German for lowliness ( dog , becket ). Corresponding Chinese swear words are gǒuzǎizi (狗崽 子 / 狗仔 子, son of a dog) and gǒu niáng yǎng de (狗 娘 养 的 / 狗 娘 養 的, son of a bitch).
• In Chinese there is the swear word yín chóng (淫蟲, lascivious worm ) for brothel visitors or men who like to have sex with women; the term is much milder than equivalent terms for promiscuous women.

Further linguistic derivations

Swear words are derived from terms that …

• belittle the opposite sex ( chick , bitch , macho , softie  …).




• Designate physical characteristics ( fat sac, pimple face, ear-washing cactus  …).
• ascribe physical or mental deficiencies to the other side ( cripple , Mongo , spas , lunatic , freak , idiot , cretin  …). When used in this way, it is usually ignored that those affected by the disease are discriminated against .
• ascribe incompetence or weakness to the other side ( failure, loser, good-for-nothing , unlucky person , victim  …).
• Ironically upgrading the person to be insulted ( know-it-alls , flash markers, quick thinkers  …).
• racially are ( nigger , Jap, Kanake , Judensau , Cape , gypsy  …).
• chauvinistically belittling other ethnic groups or social categories ( herb or potato eater, Ösi, Ossi , Besserwessi , Piefke , Polack, spaghetti eater  …); see. Ethnophaulism .
• designate another denominational group ( Marran , Quakers , Pietcong  …).
• Neologisms are usually combinations of words (often Scheiß- with any extra word, but also more creative as wimps , Turnbeutelvergesser or Loriots Jodel snipe ).
• as first names can be associated with a devaluation or problem ( Horst , Detlef , Hubert , Herbert , Adolf , Jesus  …).

Swear words in other languages

In many other languages, swear words from the sexual sphere predominate (for example English fuck , Italian cazzo , Spanish chingado or coño , Polish kurwa or chuj ), which are generally perceived as less offensive than in German. In contrast, fecal language words that are “more common” in German and are perceived as less “bad”, especially in the Romance and Anglo-Saxon cultures, are perceived as extremely crude and seriously offensive. Swedish swear words often refer to hell (e.g. helvete ) and the devil ( fan ), buttocks ( arsle ) and feces ( skit ). A distinctive feature of Dutch swearwords is the frequent use of illness as an insult. Diseases that are constantly used as a swear word in Dutch include: a. «Kanker» ( cancer ), «tering» ( tuberculosis ) and «klere» ( cholera ), whereby these diseases are often found in a combination with «-lijer» (sufferer).

The politically incorrect expression scemo di guerra («war idiot»), which was used more frequently in Italian earlier, refers to a mentally disabled person.

The use of the Internet in large sections of the population also leads to the spread of relevant English-language swearwords.

Psychology of curse word use

The individual and regional use of swear words is a source of knowledge for psychologists, as swear words are often linked to instincts and taboos. They therefore provide information about individual and collective characteristics. The use of swear words can be systematized according to Freud’s psychosexual phase model. In this context, cursing with anal vocabulary is associated with a strong sense of order and cleanliness (widespread in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan), while oedipal cursing (e.g. motherfucker) is often associated with a high level of sexual morality or patriarchal Structures (e.g. USA, Turkey, Serbia, Croatia, Greece). At the same level, there are insults that have to do with promiscuous female behavior (slut, whore, hooker, son of a bitch), which suggest a high ideal of motherhood (especially pronounced in Switzerland and Italy). A specialty are curses in Italy, which refer to God (e.g. porco dio = pig god or porca madonna = pig madonna ), which suggest a high religious ideal in society.

Swear words as a defense reaction

In general, the use of swear words is understood as an act of attack using derogatory or insulting words. In an extended meaning Sigmund Freud, for example, considered (in) the bitching and the use of foul language and as a response mechanism to reduce to a deterioration caused by a mental impression excitation (trauma ‘): Every individual is trying (to get his health), increased To reduce excitement by a reaction that is more or less adequate to the excitation. A swear word can be the «substitute for the deed», e.g. B. for other, physical reactions. If there is no reaction at all, the trauma retains its original affect. Without reducing the increase in stimuli, the event in question can become a psychological trauma. The healthy psychological mechanism, however, also has other means of reducing the affect, the ‘associative processing’, i. H. to evoke contrasting ideas (for example of one’s own dignity or the indignity of the offender).

Both in attack mode and to reduce frustration, «Scolding is the verbal reaction to frustration …» (Wilfried Seibicke in).

Swear words as a means of education

The swear word seems to be completely unsuitable as a means of education. Behavior of the child / adolescent who is persecuted by the parent with swear words is very likely not to be broken down, as it is probably intended. Rather, the behavior complained of tends to become more interesting, which usually increases the frequency (or attractiveness). This exacerbates the problem — quite apart from the worsening of the educator-child relationship, which should be good for successful parenting processes.

Historical, social, legal

When swearing you can use almost any word as a swear word, but then these are not swear words in the linguistic sense. «Upper» social classes avoid swear words. “You don’t say something like that.” That is why there are considerably fewer swear words in upscale language than in vulgar language.

The use of swear words differs greatly according to age, social class and gender , and there are also fashion trends . Terms that were not originally swear words can develop into such ( pejoration ), such as gypsies or prostitutes , on the other hand swear words can regress if the person insulted reinterprets the word positively ( Geusenwort ; examples cripple or gay ).

In the legal sense, depending on the context in which a swear word is used, it is an insult (§§ 185-189 StGB insult, defamation, defamation). Systematic abuse can be punished as defamation .

In criminal proceedings, however, it is often difficult to decide which specific words are to be regarded as offensive. For example, a man was fined 20 daily rates for calling police officers a «fish»; the proceedings against a pensioner, who is said to have called a taxi driver a “backpack”, were discontinued because the judge did not consider this word to be an insult.

See also

• Category: swear word
• Pejorative suffix

literature

• Alexander Bauer: Insult . In: Gert Ueding (Hrsg.): Historical dictionary of rhetoric . Darmstadt: WBG 1992ff., Vol. 10 (2011), Col. 116–128.
• Theodor Constantin: Berliner Schimpfwörterbuch , Haude & Spenersche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Berlin 1980, ISBN 3-7759-0236-8
• Oxana Havryliv: Pejorative Lexic . Peter Lang, Frankfurt a. a. 2003, ISBN 3-631-50804-2 . (The book deals with swear words and the verbal act of abuse. The data is based on modern German-language, especially Austrian, literature.)
• Antje Hornscheidt (Hrsg.): Swear words — insults — pejorations: How power and identities are negotiated in language. Frankfurt am Main 2011. ISBN 978-3-86099-684-3
• Herbert Pfeiffer: The big swear dictionary: Over 10,000 swear words, mockery and teasing words to designate people. Eichborn, Frankfurt 1996, ISBN 3-8218-3444-7 (Contains an afterword by Wilfried Seibicke on the subject of «Schimpfen», «Schimpfwort» and a detailed bibliography.)

Web links

• German swear dictionary, or the swear words of the Germans (anonymously published swear word dictionary from 1839; also on Google Books )
• InsultWiki (copyright free collection of swear words)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Uwe Mehlbaum: Maledicta — Swear Words: How and why do people scold? , 2010 ( limited preview in Google Book Search — USA )
2. ↑ Reinhold Aman: Bavarian-Austrian Schimpfwortbuch . Süddeutscher Verlag, Munich 1972, ISBN 3-7991-5725-5 , p. 165
3. ↑ Art of Schimpfens in: Falter
4. ↑ You son because of a burst condom . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung ( Memento from April 19, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
5. ↑ ^{a b} Gabriele Scheffler: Swear words in a society’s stock of topics . Tectum Verlag, 2000, ISBN 3-8288-8172-6 , p. 133 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
6. ^ First contributions to a program for the 17th WP in the Human Rights Committee — Tom Koenigs MP. (No longer available online.) In: tom-koenigs.de. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013 ; accessed on January 29, 2015 .
7. ↑ U. Grafberger: Holland for the trouser pocket: What travel guides conceal , S. Fischer Verlag, 2016.
8. ↑ Sigmund Freud Collected Works Volume 2 [1] About the psychological mechanism of hysterical phenomena
9. ↑ Volker Faust PSYCHOHYGIENE On the Psychology of Everyday Life [2] And why is there any abuse ?
10. ^ «Fish» as an insult to police officers costs 300 euros in the Stuttgarter Nachrichten on March 20, 2012
11. ^ Unresolved dispute between taxi drivers in Northern Bavaria on August 25, 2010

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PRONUNCIATION OF SWEARWORD

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF SWEARWORD

Swearword is a noun.

WHAT DOES SWEARWORD MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of swearword in the English dictionary

The definition of swearword in the dictionary is a socially taboo word or phrase of a profane, obscene, or insulting character.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH SWEARWORD

SYNONYMS OF «SWEARWORD»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «swearword» and belong to the same grammatical category.

TRANSLATION OF SWEARWORD

Find out the translation of swearword to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «SWEARWORD»

The term «swearword» is normally little used and occupies the 116.986 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.

Principal search tendencies and common uses of swearword

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «SWEARWORD» OVER TIME

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «SWEARWORD»

Discover the use of swearword in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to swearword and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

4 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «SWEARWORD»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term swearword is used in the context of the following news items.

REFERENCE

« EDUCALINGO. Swearword [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/swearword>. Apr 2023 ».

Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language.^[1] Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed rude, obscene, or culturally offensive; in certain religions, it constitutes sin.^[2] It can show a debasement of someone or something,^[3] or be considered an expression of strong feeling towards something. Some words may also be used as intensifiers.

In its older, more literal sense, «profanity» refers to a lack of respect for things that are held to be sacred, which implies anything inspiring or deserving of reverence, as well as behaviour showing similar disrespect or causing religious offense.^[4]

Etymology[edit]

The term profane originates from classical Latin profanus, literally «before (outside) the temple», pro meaning ‘outside’ and fanum meaning ‘temple’ or ‘sanctuary’. The term profane carried the meaning of either «desecrating what is holy» or «with a secular purpose» as early as the 1450s.^[5][6] Profanity represented secular indifference to religion or religious figures, while blasphemy was a more offensive attack on religion and religious figures, considered sinful, and a direct violation of The Ten Commandments in the majority-Christian Western world. Moreover, many Bible verses speak against swearing.^[7] In some countries, profanity words often have pagan roots that after Christian influence were turned from names of deities and spirits to profanity and used as such, like famous Finnish profanity word perkele, which was believed to be an original name of the thunder god Ukko, the chief god of the Finnish pagan pantheon.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Profanities, in the original meaning of blasphemous profanity, are part of the ancient tradition of the comic cults which laughed and scoffed at the deity or deities: an example of this would be Lucian’s Dialogues of the Gods satire.^[12]: 110

English[edit]

In English, swear words and curse words like shit have a Germanic root,^[13] as likely does fuck,^[14] though damn and piss come from Old French and ultimately Latin. The more technical and polite alternatives are often Latin in origin, such as defecate or excrete (for shit) and fornicate or copulate (for fuck). Due to the stereotype of English profanity being largely Germanic, profanity is sometimes referred to colloquially as «Anglo-Saxon», in reference to the oldest form of English.^[15] This is not always the case. The word «wanker» is considered profane in Britain, but it dates only to the mid-20th century.^[16][17]

History[edit]

Words currently considered curse words or profanity were common parlance in medieval English.^[18] In the Elizabethan era, some playwrights, like Shakespeare, largely avoided direct use of these words, but others, like Ben Jonson, did use them in his plays.^[19] The word fuck was likely first used in English (borrowed) in the 15th century, though the use of shit in English is much older, rooted in the Proto-Germanic word skit-, then evolved in Middle English to the word schitte, meaning excrement, and shiten, to defecate. Another profanity, damn, has its origins in Latin, with the word damnum meaning ‘to damage, hurt or harm’.^[20]

Research[edit]

Analyses of recorded conversations circa 1972 revealed that an average of roughly 80–90 words that a person spoke each day — 0.5% to 0.7% of all words — were curse words, with usage varying from 0% to 3.4%.^[21] In comparison, first-person plural pronouns (we, us, our) make up 1% of spoken words.^[22]

A three-country poll conducted by Angus Reid Public Opinion in July 2010 found that Canadians swear more often than Americans and British when talking to friends, while Britons are more likely than Canadians and Americans to hear strangers swear during a conversation.^[23]

Swearing performs certain psychological functions, and uses particular linguistic and neurological mechanisms; all these are avenues of research. New York Times author Natalie Angier notes that functionally similar behavior can be observed in chimpanzees, and may contribute to our understanding.^[24] Angier also notes that swearing is a widespread but perhaps underappreciated anger management technique; that «Men generally curse more than women, unless said women are in a sorority, and that university provosts swear more than librarians or the staff members of the university day care center».^[24]

Keele University researchers Stephens, Atkins, and Kingston found that swearing relieves the effects of physical pain.^[25] Stephens said «I would advise people, if they hurt themselves, to swear».^[26] However, the overuse of swear words tends to diminish this effect.^[26] The Keele team won the Ig Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for their research.

A team of neurologists and psychologists at the UCLA Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research suggested that swearing may help differentiate Alzheimer’s disease from frontotemporal dementia.^[27]

Neurologist Antonio Damasio noted that despite the loss of language due to damage to the language areas of the brain, patients were still often able to swear.^[28]

A group of researchers from Wright State University studied why people swear in the online world by collecting tweets posted on Twitter. They found that cursing is associated with negative emotions such as sadness (21.83%) and anger (16.79%), thus showing people in the online world mainly use curse words to express their sadness and anger towards others.^[29][30]

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Warsaw investigated bilingual swearing, and how it is easier to swear in a foreign language, finding that bilinguals strengthen the offensiveness of profanities when they switch into their second language, but soften it when they switch into their first tongue, doing both statistically significantly only in the case of ethnophaulisms (ethnic slurs), leading the scientists to the conclusion that switching into the second language exempts bilinguals from the social norms and constraints (whether own or socially imposed) such as political correctness, and makes them more prone to swearing and offending others.^[31]

Types[edit]

According to Steven Pinker, there are five possible functions of swearing:^[32]

• Abusive swearing, intended to offend, intimidate or otherwise cause emotional or psychological harm
• Cathartic swearing, used in response to pain or misfortune
• Dysphemistic swearing, used to convey that the speaker thinks negatively of the subject matter and to make the listener do the same
• Emphatic swearing, intended to draw additional attention to what is considered to be worth paying attention to
• Idiomatic swearing, used for no other particular purpose, but as a sign that the conversation and relationship between speaker and listener is informal

In addition, Coprolalia, which is an occasional characteristic of tic disorders, is involuntary swearing or the involuntary utterance of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks.^[33] It encompasses words and phrases that are culturally taboo or generally unsuitable for acceptable social use, when used out of context. The term is not used to describe contextual swearing.^[34] It can be distinguished from voluntary profanity by characteristics such as interrupting the flow of dialogue, differences in tone and volume relative to a normal voice, variable frequency that increases with anxiety, and association with brain disorders.^[33] It is usually expressed out of social or emotional context, and may be spoken in a louder tone or different cadence or pitch than normal conversation. It can be a single word, or complex phrases.^[34]

Slurs vs. profanity[edit]

Profanity is widely considered socially offensive and strongly impolite; slurs, however, are both intended to be and by definition are derogatory, as they are meant to harm another individual. Although profanity has been seen to improve performance or relieve anxiety and anger, and can be used in a lighthearted way, this effect and impact cannot be observed with slurs.^[35] Though slurs are considered profanity by definition, being both socially offensive and strongly impolite, profanity can be used in a non-targeted manner where slurs cannot. For example, in the sentence «If I don’t get an A on this exam, I’m fucked», the word «fucked» is profanity; however, the way it is embedded is not intended to offend anyone, as the speaker is not making an offensive claim.^[36]

Legality[edit]

Australia[edit]

In every Australian state and territory it is a crime to use offensive, indecent or insulting language in or near a public place.^[37] These offences are classed as summary offences. This means that they are usually tried before a local or magistrates court. Police also have the power to issue fixed penalty notices to alleged offenders.^[38] It is a defence in some Australian jurisdictions to have «a reasonable excuse» to conduct oneself in the manner alleged.^[39]

Brazil[edit]

In Brazil, the Penal Code does not contain any penalties for profanity in public immediately. However, direct offenses against one can be considered a crime against honor, with a penalty of imprisonment of one to three months or a fine.^[40] The analysis of the offence is considered «subjective», depending on the context of the discussion and the relationship between the parts.^[41]

Canada[edit]

Section 175 of Canada’s Criminal Code makes it a criminal offence to «cause a disturbance in or near a public place» by «swearing […] or using insulting or obscene language». Provinces and municipalities may also have their laws against swearing in public. For instance, the Municipal Code of Toronto bars «profane or abusive language» in public parks.^[42] In June 2016, a man in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was arrested for using profane language at a protest against Bill C-51.^[43]

India[edit]

Sections 294A and 294B of Indian penal code have legal provisions for punishing individuals who use inappropriate or obscene words (either spoken or written) in public that are maliciously deliberate to outrage religious feelings or beliefs.^[44] In February 2015, a local court in Mumbai asked police to file a first information report against 14 Bollywood celebrities who were part of the stage show of All India Bakchod, a controversial comedy stage show known for vulgar and profanity based content.^[45] In May 2019 during the election campaign, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi listed out the abusive words the opposition Congress party had used against him and his mother during their campaign.^[46]

In January 2016, a Mumbai-based communications agency initiated a campaign against profanity and abusive language called «Gaali free India» (gaali is the Hindi word for profanity).^[47] Using creative ads, it called upon people to use swatch (clean) language on the lines of Swachh Bharat Mission for nationwide cleanliness. It further influenced other news media outlets who further raised the issue of abusive language in the society especially incest abuses against women, such as «mother fucker».^[48]

In an increasing market for OTT content, several Indian web series have been using profanity and expletives to gain attention of the audiences.^[49]

New Zealand[edit]

In New Zealand, the Summary Offences Act 1981 makes it illegal to use «indecent or obscene words in or within hearing of any public place». However, if the defendant has «reasonable grounds for believing that his words would not be overheard» then no offence is committed. Also, «the court shall have regard to all the circumstances pertaining at the material time, including whether the defendant had reasonable grounds for believing that the person to whom the words were addressed, or any person by whom they might be overheard, would not be offended».^[50]

Pakistan[edit]

Political leaders in Pakistan have been consistently picked up for using profane, abusive language. While there is no legislation to punish abusers, the problem aggravated with abusive language being used in the parliament and even against women.^[51]

Philippines[edit]

The Department of Education in the Philippine city of Baguio expressed that while cursing was prohibited in schools, children were not following this prohibition at home. Thus as part of its anti profanity initiative, in November 2018, the Baguio city government in the Philippines passed an anti profanity law that prohibits cursing and profanity in areas of the city frequented by children. This move was welcomed by educators^[52] and the Department of Education in Cordillera.^[52][53]

Russia[edit]

Swearing in public is an administrative crime in Russia. However, law enforcement rarely targets swearing people. The punishment is a fine of 500–1000 roubles or even a 15-day imprisonment.^[54]

United Kingdom[edit]

In public[edit]

Swearing, in and of itself, is not usually a criminal offence in the United Kingdom although in context may constitute a component of a crime. However, it may be a criminal offence in Salford Quays under a public spaces protection order which outlaws the use of «foul and abusive language» without specifying any further component to the offence, although it appears to be unclear as to whether all and every instance of swearing is covered. Salford City Council claims that the defence of «reasonable excuse» allows all the circumstances to be taken into account.^[55] In England and Wales, swearing in public where it is seen to cause harassment, alarm or distress may constitute an offence under section 5(1) and (6) of the Public Order Act 1986.^[56] In Scotland, a similar common law offence of breach of the peace covers issues causing public alarm and distress.

In the workplace[edit]

In the United Kingdom, swearing in the workplace can be an act of gross misconduct under certain circumstances. In particular, this is the case when swearing accompanies insubordination against a superior or humiliation of a subordinate employee. However, in other cases, it may not be grounds for instant dismissal.^[57] According to a UK site on work etiquette, the «fact that swearing is a part of everyday life means that we need to navigate away through a day in the office without offending anyone, while still appreciating that people do swear. Of course, there are different types of swearing and, without spelling it out, you really ought to avoid the ‘worst words’ regardless of who you’re talking to».^[58] Within the UK, the appropriateness of swearing can vary largely by a person’s industry of employment, though it is still not typically used in situations where employees of a higher position than oneself are present.^[58]

In 2006, The Guardian reported that «36% of the 308 UK senior managers and directors having responded to a survey accepted swearing as part of workplace culture», but warned about specific inappropriate uses of swearing such as when it is discriminatory or part of bullying behaviour. The article ended with a quotation from Ben Wilmott (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development): «Employers can ensure professional language in the workplace by having a well-drafted policy on bullying and harassment that emphasises how bad language has potential to amount to harassment or bullying.»^[59]

United States[edit]

In the United States, courts have generally ruled that the government does not have the right to prosecute someone solely for the use of an expletive, which would be a violation of their right to free speech enshrined in the First Amendment. On the other hand, they have upheld convictions of people who used profanity to incite riots, harass people, or disturb the peace.^[60] In 2011, a North Carolina statute that made it illegal to use «indecent or profane language» in a «loud and boisterous manner» within earshot of two or more people on any public road or highway was struck down as unconstitutional.^[61] In 2015, the US city of Myrtle Beach passed an ordinance that makes profane language punishable with fines up to $500 and/or 30 days in jail.^[62] An amount of $22,000 was collected from these fines in 2017 alone.^[63]

Religious views[edit]

Judaism[edit]

Judaism forbids the use of profanity as contradicting the Torah’s command to «Be holy», which revolves around the concept of separating oneself from worldly practices (including the use of vulgar language).^[64] The Talmud teaches that the words that leave the mouth make an impact on the heart and mind; the use of profanity thus causes the regression of the soul.^[64] Judaism thus teaches that shemirat halashon (guarding one’s tongue) is one of the first steps to spiritual improvement.^[64]

Christianity[edit]

In Christianity, the use of foul language is condemned as being sinful, a position held since the time of the early Church.^[65][2] To this end, the Bible commands «Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them»^[66] and also «Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving».^[67] These teachings are echoed in Ecclesiasticus 20:19,^[68] Ecclesiasticus 23:8-15,^[69] and Ecclesiasticus 17:13-15,^[70] all of which are found in the Deuterocanon/Apocrypha.^[71] Jesus taught that «by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.» (cf. Matthew 12:36^[72]),^[73] with revilers being listed as being among the damned in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.^[74][75] Profanity revolving around the dictum «Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain», one of the Ten Commandments, is regarded as blasphemy as Christians regard it as «an affront to God’s holiness».^[76][77] Paul the Apostle defines the ridding of filthy language from one’s lips as being evidence of living in a relationship with Jesus (cf. Colossians 3:1-10^[78]).^[79] The Epistle to the Colossians teaches that controlling the tongue «is the key to gaining mastery over the whole body.»^[71] The Didache 3:3 included the use of foul language as being part of the lifestyle that puts one on the way to eternal death.^[2] The same document commands believers not to use profanity as it «breeds adultery».^[65] John Chrysostom, an early Church Father, taught that those engaged in the use of profanity should repent of the sin.^[80] The Epistle of James holds that «blessing God» is the primary function of the Christian’s tongue, not speaking foul language.^[71] Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk, a bishop of Eastern Orthodox Church, lambasted profanity and blasphemy, teaching that it is «extremely unbefitting [for] Christians» and that believers should guard themselves from ever using it.^[81]

Islam[edit]

In Islam, the use of profanity is haram. Additionally, impertinence and slander are considered immoral acts.^[82]

Minced oaths[edit]

Minced oaths are euphemistic expressions made by altering or clipping profane and blasphemous words and expressions to make them less or not objectionable. Although minced oaths are often acceptable in situations where profanity is not (including the radio), some people still consider them profanity. In 1941, a judge threatened a lawyer with contempt of court for using the word darn.^[83][84]

Impact on society[edit]

While there is no evidence of harmful effects of swearing (for instance, that it leads to physical violence), there is research showing that swearing is associated with enhanced pain tolerance.^[85] A study by Stephens, Atkins and Kingston (2009) concluded that swearing prompts a fight-or-flight response and quashes the link between the fear of pain and the perception of pain itself.

Research by Jay and Janschewitz^[86] suggests that swearing emerges by age two. By the time children enter school, they have a working vocabulary of 30–40 «offensive words», and their swearing becomes similar to that of adults around the age of 11 to 12.

There is no established consensus as to how children learn to swear, although it is an inevitable part of language learning, and begins early in life.^[87] Young school children may adopt various «toning down» strategies when swearing depending on the context in which they are talking.^[88]

A 2017 paper by Gilad Feldman and co-workers^[89] claimed to show a correlation between swearing and various measures of honesty. From three separate studies, the authors «found a consistent positive relationship between profanity and honesty; profanity was associated with less lying and deception at the individual level and with higher integrity at the society level». However, the methodology of this study has been challenged by other psychologists,^[90] and the study is a subject of ongoing controversy.^{[needs update]}

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Almond, Ian (2003). «Derrida and the Secret of the Non-Secret: On Respiritualising the Profane». Literature and Theology. 17 (4): 457–471. doi:10.1093/litthe/17.4.457.
• Bryson, Bill (1990) The Mother Tongue
• Bulcke, Camille (2001) [1968]. An English-Hindi Dictionary (3rd ed.). Ramnagar, New Delhi: Chand. ISBN 81-219-0559-1.
• Croom, Adam M. (2011). «Slurs». Language Sciences. 33 (3): 343–358. doi:10.1016/j.langsci.2010.11.005.
• Eggert, Randall (2011). This Book Is Taboo: An Introduction to Linguistics through Swearing. Kendall Hunt Publishing. ISBN 978-0757586422.
• Hughes, Geoffrey (2004) [1991]. Swearing: A Social History of Foul Language, Oaths and Profanity in English. Penguin UK. ISBN 9780141954325.
• Jay, Timothy (1992). Cursing in America: A psycholinguistic study of dirty language in the courts, in the movies, in the schoolyards and on the streets. John Benjamins Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1556194511.
• Johnson, Sterling (2004) Watch Your F*cking Language
• McEnery, Tony (2006) Swearing in English: bad language, purity and power from 1586 to the present, Routledge ISBN 0-415-25837-5.
• McWhorter, John (2021). Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever. Avery. ISBN 978-0593188798.
• O’Connor, Jim (2000) Cuss Control
• Sagarin Edward (1962) The Anatomy of Dirty Words
• Sheidlower, Jesse (2009) The F-Word (3rd ed.)
• Spears, Richard A. (1990) Forbidden American English
• Stollznow, Karen. «Swearing is bad?». Archived from the original on 2007-05-21.
• Wajnryb, Ruth (2005) Expletive Deleted: A Good Look at Bad Language

External links[edit]

• Most vulgar words in The Online Slang Dictionary (as voted by visitors)
• Francis Grose (1811). Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue at Project Gutenberg