Where did curse words originate from and how did they become considered to be bad words?

Answer 1

Most English curse words originated more than a thousand years ago in Old English and have been passed down from generation to generation, like "sh*t" and "f*ck".

Answer 2

I always heard that it was an acronym: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. THe origin was said to be from the olden days when the authorities put people in stocks publicly. This goes all the way back to old England, long before our Puritans or any of that. Anyhow, they would put a sign around an offender's neck as he stood with his hands, head, and feet confined by the stocks.This would increase public humiliation. There would likely be a thief, liar, and such on display. THere were fornicators and adulterers, too. Since the phrase was so long for this offense, they used the acronym F**K. The acronym became the famous "F" word. In fact, I have always heard that they added an "er" to the word and put it around the adulterer's neck. Is this true? I dunno. But the term "laughing stock" also comes from this origin. DIdn't a rock group---some metal crowd---do an album by that name?

Answer 3

Many curse words are corruptions of religious oaths, e.g. 'that blessed man' became 'that bloody man' - that way profanities were no longer sacrilegious. In time, the substitute word becomes a curse word which can no longer be comfortably used with its original meaning. You can hear it happening in Ireland (although not from a religious oath) where many people say 'feckin' as a substitute for the obvious.

Answer 4

F....... for
U........unlawful
C........carnal
K........knowledge

This is actually an acronym for what the prostitutes were charged with in Britian in the early part of the 20th century. It took a long time to write out on reports and evolved into an acronym, then into a word. The others such as sh*t are not really swearing, just crude. Swearing is taking the Lord's name in vain(in classical terms), such as "God Da*n" it. or just "Dam* it", or the Brits say "Blo*dy" this, "Bl*ody" that, referring to Christ's blood shed on the cross. Then there is the obvious "go to he*l", which is the same as damnation. Hope that this helps. Rob

Answer 5

When the first caveman banged his finger with a rock,all he could think of was''motherfcuking-son of a bit*h'' and that's how it all got started