How were cuss words determined to be?

Question

My 12 year old has asked this question several times and never gets a good answer. Who decided that certain words would be considered swearing and how did it all come about? Is there a 'history' of cussing that can be found online?

Answer 1

Most answers are baloney, and such reasoning has led to this idiotic super politically correct world i which we live. A word that is considered bad today will not be so in a few generations and new words will come into play. For example, if we say that it is the meaning of the word that makes in a cuss, why is it okay to say poop, but not S**t when they both mean the smae icky smelling substance? If we say it's based on intent, why is it okay to say 'you really hurt my feelings' but not "I personally think you are an A**hole"? Some linguists have posited that it is a combination of these two factors along with the auditory impact of the words. Cuss words tend to have strong consonant sounds such as "S" and "ck" along with referring to potentially unpleasant actions or excretions (this tends to hold true across language barriers: it is fairly easy to tell when you've been cursed out, even in another tongue). As I mentioned previously, words tend to lose their impact and thus we change what are considered 'nawty' words. A prime example is ****. While still commonly used in other English speaking countries, **** in the USA was once considered to be a very bad word, but over the course of a couple centuries has become the nice way of saying a$$. Another word which has undergone this same transformation in less than a generation is 'dork'. When I was in 6th grade, that was a very bad word for the male anatomy, and now 20 something years later it is a perfectly acceptable thing to call an unpleasantly goofy person (but heaven forbid you call him a richard!). Bottom line... nobody really knows. If you stick with mom's advice you'll do fine: If you don't have anything good to say....

Answer 2

I think if people use it badly it makes it bad. For instance, I used to think special was a good word but if someone says, "What you just said was 'special'." then it's insulting. I think cuss words were just words until everyone who uses it insults someone else with it. Then again, words are just words, nothing less nothing more, and words don't have emotions but can bring them. Cuss words aren't exactly bad words unless you make them bad.

Answer 3

They are words which are conceived in the heart, grow in the mind, and are born in a fit of anger. No matter who decides which words are cuss words; there are enough good words that mean the same things that cuss words need never be used.

Answer 4

I suspect it's because all of the cuss words refer to things that "decent" people wouldn't talk about in mixed company: sex, bodily waste, etc.