Hell is not a bad word

When it comes to profanity, the word “hell” isn’t that bad.  It’s not as profane as “s***” or “f***” or “c***.”  In fact, it might be the least offensive of the bad words, but when I was a kid, I still got my mouth washed out with soap if I said it in front of my parents.

A lot of words led to my mouth getting washed out with soap.  I got my mouth washed out with soap for saying “Hoover Dam.”  I probably shouldn’t have whispered “Hoover” and then shouted “DAM!!!!”  I got my mouth washed out with soap for saying “shitzhu.”  I probably shouldn’t have shouted “Sh*t” and whispered the “zhu.”  Now that I think about it, I probably deserved getting my mouth washed out with soap.

“Hell” is similar to a lot of vulgar words in that it has four letters.  Four seems to be the magic number when it comes to vulgarity.  Yeah, a lot of profanity has way more than four letters, but most root words in profanity have four letters.  In “mother****er,” the root word is four letters long.  In “pieceof****,” the root word is four letters.  The root word in “****sucker” is four letters.  Those are all pretty bad words.  The exceptions seem to be “ass” and “b*****,” and neither are THAT bad (though I’d be careful who I’d say “b*****” around because it can cause more of a reaction than the other words, depending on whom you say it to).

But Hell is unique for a four-letter bad word.  It’s the only word that references a place.  Yeah, a few vulgar words refer to places on the body, but a body part is different than a place.  “Hell” is a place (if you believe in it), and it’s considered to be bad (if you believe in it).  But should it be profane?  The Gulag is a bad place, but if I ever shouted “Holy Gulag!” I wouldn’t have gotten my mouth washed out with soap.

It comes down to context.  When I asked my mom if “Hell” was a real place, she said I’d find out if I kept saying the word “hell.”  Then she washed my mouth out with soap.  When I told my older brother to “Go to Hell!!” after he gave me a wedgie,  I got the soap washing with no explanation. I guess saying “hell” is worse than giving somebody a wedgie.  When I used the word “hellacious” as an adjective, nobody batted an eye.

That’s how I knew “hell” shouldn’t be a bad word.  If I had said “crapola” or “f***tastic,” my breath would have smelled like Irish Spring for a month.  But “hellacious,” I could get away with.

Out of all vulgar words, I think hell is the most fun to say.  Something about the extension of the “L” sound gives it a humorous effect.  I always laughed when my dad angrily said “Hell’s bells!” in front of us (but I made sure he didn’t see me laugh).  The idea of Hell having bells was ludicrous, and the contrast with my dad’s anger made it tough not to laugh.  In school, we students would yell at each other in the hallway “Go to health!” when we were on our way to health class.  The teachers couldn’t punish us because we were simply telling our friends to go where they were supposed to go.

I don’t think “hell” should be considered a bad word.  It’s a place, and it’s too easy to say for it to be forbidden.  But I don’t want my kids to get in trouble at school, so I’ll teach them not to say “hell” in public or in front of adults.  You can have a lot of fun with the word “hell,” but you probably don’t want to end up there.

Why Is “Hell”
Considered as a “Bad Word»?

Is hell a
bad word? This question might more often than not go answered or raise
a heated debate from a multitude of people. Others might argue that Hell is
only a bad word in a bad context and that hell is only a bad word because we
let it be a bad word. From the myriad profanity
or words you might realize that
the word “hell” is not classified among the curse words. Most profane words
usually tend to describe a person, a body part, or an act that is overly
inappropriate and not socially acceptable.

The
origin of the word Hell can be traced back to Old English hel, hell, of
Germanic origin; related to Dutch hel and German Hölle, from an Indo-European
root meaning «to cover or hide.»

Indeed
many swear words have to do with three things as we’ve already discussed above.
These three things revolve around bodily functions, God, or sex. As a swear
word, however, hell has many more meanings. For some reason, it’s a relatively
mild expletive, so you’re likely to hear it crop up fairly often.

         i. What
in this world of Hell is President Trump talking about?

      
ii. Bring me the Horizon…»Go to Hell for heaven’s sake.»

     
iii. All good girls go to hell they say. Well, that’s where I actually belong.
Now beg.

Hell’s
negative connotation makes the word the only one of its own that raises
eyebrows just because of its nature and origin which is purely a religious
stand-off point. Questions might then arise as to why the word is used in media
stations including radio, TV and even on social media including Twitter and
Facebook (audios and videos) without censoring or also being blacked out.

 The
large population might be curious to know if there is any source may be from
the dictionary that could point out the severity usage of the word and what
makes it be differentiated and categorized differently from other vulgar words
which are curse words in general.

In
today’s English words, most curse words which are everywhere even uttered by
young kids across the street and in school have to do with scatology or sex in
a high degree.

Answer:
You do and did. And about a billion of your friends

For
example, when we were in primary school in the 1950s, the curse word «Get
Bent» was a mild swear, a little less severe than “shit.” Now it has no
sense of being a bad word, just a strong word in a context such as you bloody
idiot drop dead. Other words, such as «Stuff It,» became more vulgar
over the same period.

But this
can be overruled after all.

Before
World War I, some words were considered to be blasphemes, but in comparison to
today, there’s no big deal as it was in the past. And in those times if you
uttered those words, then you’d face the consequences since these were curse
words and it was a taboo to speak such “curse” words. Today in The USA, the
word “hell” is allowed when broadcasting on TV and Radio and hence at times it
is used as a placeholder for modern profanity which isn’t allowed.

One might
tend to guess that the taboo can be related to the Judeo-Christian commandments
whereby it was wrong to call the name of
the Lord in vain (2nd or 3rd of the written commandments
depending on your religious sect)

Most
people tend to have different levels of interpretations some of which are very
broad in nature and hence in a society where you’re having both Jews and
Christians once can effortlessly see where a taboo like this one might end up
bearing roots.

The word
“hell” is used
as a curse word referring to a curse with relation to the eternal damnation which
is termed as a reward for wrongdoers (a place or state of eternal suffering and
separation from God). For example, “I’ve got to get my life together. This damn
heat has made me realize I can’t go to hell.” For further reference as to what
makes it to the list of profanities which revolve around the concept of
blasphemy then check out Wikipedia.

The word
“profane” does come from the classical Latin “profanes,” which in literal terms
can be termed as “before, or outside the temple.” Hence, this word had a
meaning which was directed towards destroying what was holy or desecrating the
Holiness, and if we can discuss what it meant bearing a secular purpose in
mind, then it can be traced from 1450s CE. Profanity was more tied to
representing secular indifference to the religion at significant and religious
figures and when compared to blasphemy which in general was an attack which can
be categorized as an offensive attack on a particular religion or religious
figures and I was considered as being sinful and a violation directed towards
the 10 commandments.

More
Reasoning

All the
above-discussed reasoning is correct. To expand on the above explanation or
discussion: There are words that are taboo (things that goes divergent with
respect to the established norms be it social, political, religious or economic
divergence) primarily due to the fact that they relate to sex, ones that are
taboo because they relate to human or animal excrement, and ones that are taboo
because they relate to a particular religion. The last division is a little
different because the shock value comes from a sacred concept being used in a
religious and at the same time exhibiting a profane nature context, rather than
from the word itself involving profanity.

Let’s dig
more or answer in context the question of why «Hell» isn’t expurgated
when it comes to media stations: The taboo around profane use of religious
terms has relaxed in recent years as compared to let’s say the biblical times
depending on your religion (I will use Christianity in this case-example) —
(4,000 years ago (c. 17th century BCE) with the patriarchs — Abraham, his son
Isaac, and grandson Jacob) -probably due to there being less focus towards
religion in general. All curse words draw their vigor from the broader societal
context, for example, vast words considered as profane usually deal with body
parts as cited above and it’s unusual, but usually, they target genitals and
more often female than male. When things become less taboo in society, they
eventually become less shocking as a curse because people by large already
don’t do them much, or they stop doing these things over time. Then after a
while, people forget why precisely they were.

We can
also factor in the fact that most religious words were only profanities when
they moved out of their original context —which makes it harder to censor them
entirely since it would require a judgment of their usage in each case.

If you
find it uncomfortable to use profane words, then it’s better if you find an
acceptable alternative, for example:

        
i. Hell (Anglo-Saxon/Germanic) — Infernum (Latinate form of the Anglo-Saxon)

      
ii. Fuck (Anglo-Saxon/Germanic) – copulate (Latinate form of the Anglo-Saxon)

     
iii. Shit (Anglo-Saxon/Germanic) – defecate (Latinate form of the Anglo-Saxon)

    
iv. Piss (Anglo-Saxon/Germanic) — urinate (Latinate form of the Anglo-Saxon)

     
v. Cunt (Anglo-Saxon/Germanic) — pudendum*/vagina (Latinate form of the
Anglo-Saxon)

Words Translated as
Hell in the Bible

Not even
one of the words transliterated as hell in the King James Version, the Old
Testament and in the New Testament has the meaning of modern word “hell”
definition which is regarded as a place of eternal, everlasting torment.

This does
not bring the meaning that the translators who did the marvelous job tried to
deceive anyone, but that the word «hell» has changed meaning
throughout the years. The English word hell grew into its immediate form and
meaning. Initially, it only meant a covered or hidden place (covered and not to
be revealed). It signified simply what was secreted or concealed (hidden) but
gradually came to have the meaning of an area of eternal suffering or otherwise
an area of extreme torment.

Recently,
this can be testified by the fact that English Bible translations to-date use
the English word «hell» gradually less. Not to mean that all
translators have turned liberal over the years, or don’t actually base their
belief the Bible, but merely because they realize the English word
«hell» does not convey the correct meaning to modern readers. Reading
in the 21st century is quite complicated than in past centuries. In the 21st
century, reading and learning are endlessly linked in an increasingly visible
web of physical and digital media forms.

In the
current context of media abundance, the word “Hell” has a different meaning
from what “Hell” really meant ages ago.

Words Translated as
Hell in the Bible

Tartarus

Tartarus is
mention only once in the bible. This is in 2 Peter 2:4 in King James Version.
The verb form of the word translates to “cast down to hell.” 2 Peter 2:4 KJV if
God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and
delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

Tartarus,
therefore, has nothing to do with human beings or their judgment. The verse and
one that follows do not indicate what judgment will be. There is, therefore, no
reason to support that Tartarus translates to Hell, only tradition.

Sheol

The
word Sheol has
been translated to as grave 31 times, pit 3 times and hell 31 times. The word
has therefore been used to refer to three different but related things in the
bible. Today, it is only the King James Version and New King James version
bibles that refer to Hell as Sheol. Instead, Sheol widely refers to the state
or place of all the dead, whether they were good or bad. It is not defined as a
place of punishment, but instead, it is a place of unconsciousness. Therefore,
it cannot have the modern meaning of hell.

Hades

Septuagint
was the commonly accepted bible and was used during the ministry of Jesus. In
Septuagint, Hades translates
to Sheol. Originally, Hades meant that which is concealed/ unseen. Hell also
meant something secret or concealed. Therefore, when the KJV Bible was
translated, the word Hades and hell could have had the same meaning. However,
this is not the same meaning as what hell means today. Whatever hades means, it
will not last forever as Hades and death will give up their occupants and hades
will be destroyed (Revelation 20:13-14).
This is the end of both as prophesied by Hosea 13:14.

Gehenna

The
word Gehenna also
Geenna was a place in the south side of Jerusalem. Gehenna is Greek for Hebrew
words Gehinnom which means the valley of Hinnom.
From the Old Testament, one can understand that the valley was a horrible place
for the Jews. This is where
the idolatrous burnt their children alive for sacrifices to their gods. When
they returned after their exile in Babylon, the Jews turned the valley into
bumping site where anything considered garbage and unclean was burnt. There is
no reason to believe that the site has anything to do with punishment and
eternal torment.

To answer
the question as to whether “Hell a bad word,” “hell” is used as a curse word
and it is or (was) considered blasphemous, and hence the word is considered
profanity.

What
People Say!

Interviewee
1: I work with kids. Everything, literally everything could be
a bad word. Audience is key.
But no, amongst adults I feel hell should be okay.

Interviewee
2: It depends on who you’re asking. Most peeps I know wouldn’t
say it is. But I know some who would. I also know peeps who would PREFER you
not to say it around them, but won’t say anything about it.

Interviewee
3: Hell is still not a swear in my vocab lmfao

 Interviewee
4: All the myriad ways you can
make compound nouns with Hell. e.g. Hell ton, motherfucker. My all-time
favorite example of creative profanity:
loser helltard

1. Obvious
exactly what is meant

2. Extremely
offensive [ugly as hell **]

 Caveat: The
above discussion is purely from an English language perspective; this means
that all that has been discussed above may not apply to other languages or
speakers of other words. If any proper linguists would like to chime in this
discussion, we’d love to see how this holds up to more extensive scrutiny.