Stipulations for Swearing?

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superberkut

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Is there a reason that most swear words came to represent something vulgar as they do today? It seems that expletives are more satisfying to yell than other milder words, using a softer first syllable and a harder second syllable for most manageable curses. So, without mentioning any, is there anything that can lead to explaining exactly why we use swearing and why it may be considered more effective to vent by using them?
 
The F word has been around since the Anglo-Saxon days but they don't know if it was vulgar or not. Other then that, damn and hell should be obvious.

Just look the word up on wikipedia, they give a good etymology of it.
 
Apparantly charlie uniform november tango originated from the viking word kunta, which means sheath (like a sword or knife sheath). So the slang term for female genitalia means a sheath for your manhood.

(From a BBC programme called Balderdash & Piffle, investigating the origins of various words.)
 
Joey D
The F word has been around since the Anglo-Saxon days but they don't know if it was vulgar or not. Other then that, damn and hell should be obvious.

Just look the word up on wikipedia, they give a good etymology of it.
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hell and damn are hardly swear words.
 
The ones I mostly use are all old mythology things, the well known (and also my favourite :D) "perkele" being originally the name of the God of Thunder. Derivatives of Satan and hell are also useful.
 
Stevisiov90
hell and damn are hardly swear words.
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They are when used in the wrong way much like bastard and bitch. Both of thoes mean something that isn't rude or abusive or classed as swearing, but like damn and hell used in the wrong way they're both swearing.
 
Stevisiov90
hell and damn are hardly swear words.
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Yep, they are.
wiki
"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." is a line from the 1939 film Gone with the Wind starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh.

It was spoken by Gable, as Rhett Butler, in his last words to Scarlett O'Hara. It occurs at the end of the film when Scarlett asks Rhett, "Where shall I go? What shall I do?" if he leaves her. The line is memorable not only because it contains a swear word (which was generally not allowed in films of that time period), but because it demonstrates that Rhett has finally given up on Scarlett and no longer cares what happens to her.
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If damn isn't a swear word, why is there a darn non sweary alternative?
 
Dave A
They are when used in the wrong way much like bastard and bitch. Both of thoes mean something that isn't rude or abusive or classed as swearing, but like damn and hell used in the wrong way they're both swearing.
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Good point. But does that apply to the word "****", in which I'd like to know how anyone got such a word from feces, and how this word suddenly became a swear word....
 
*McLaren*
Good point. But does that apply to the word "****", in which I'd like to know how anyone got such a word from feces, and how this word suddenly became a swear word....
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Type it into wikipedia, it will reveal all.

Wiki
Scholars trace the word back to Old Norse origin (skīta), and it is virtually certain that it was used in some form by preliterate Germanic tribes at the time of the Roman Empire. It was originally adopted into Old English as scitte, eventually morphing into Middle English schītte. The word may be further traced to Proto-Germanic *skit-, and ultimately to Proto-Indo-European *skheid-, ". Ancient Greek language had 'skor' (root 'skat-' from which modern Greek 'skatá'). The words 'skítur' (noun) and 'skíta' (verb), still exist in the Icelandic language today, and in other Scandinavian languages variations of 'skit' are also often used.
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daan
Yep, they are.

If damn isn't a swear word, why is there a darn non sweary alternative?
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Why is darn non-sweary then? It's completely arbitrary, and stupid.
 
excellent foxtrot uniform charlie kilo-ing way to say the word, Roo 👍
 
I just wanted to round out the thread with the theory that every swear word is related to either religious, sexual, or bodily functions.

It's an ironclad tripartite test.
 
Ass- is Part II and III.

Don't make me go through them all, I do that for another site. I feel so...childish.
 
Pupik
I just wanted to round out the thread with the theory that every swear word is related to either religious, sexual, or bodily functions.

It's an ironclad tripartite test.
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It is holding up, except perhaps the fact that the f-bomb may not have meant what it does today. Other than that, many of them have a hard syllable, folowed by a softer counterpart. Many single-syllable words have harsh accents, and beyond two- there are not many beyond that, maybe because the people who create and use them in everyday speech (apologies for offense) can only understand that many.
 

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