Vulgarity
/vʌlˈɡær.ɪ.ti/noun
The quality of being crude, coarse, or lacking refinement; offensiveness in manner, taste, or language.
Did you know?Vulgarity ultimately comes from Latin *vulgus*, meaning “the common people,” so its original sense was social, not obscene — but elite writers later twisted it into a mark of bad taste.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wel-
“to wish, will; to choose or be strong”
Latin
Latin
vulgus
“the common people; the crowd; the multitude”
Late Latin
Latin
vulgaris
“common, ordinary, general”
Old French
Old French
vulgaire
“common, ordinary; unrefined”
Middle English
English
vulgar
“common, ordinary; later, coarse or indecent”
Modern English
English
vulgarity
“the quality of being vulgar; coarseness or offensiveness in taste or behavior”