# Why do we Curse Words? Especially When We are Emotional? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 13, 2000, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-curse-words-especially-when-we-are-emotional/33042 "2000-09-13T16:48:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wildest\_Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-curse-words-especially-when-we-are-emotional/33042/1 "2000-09-13T16:48:14Z")
I have alway wondered about this? Where did cuss words come from in the first place an who decided what word is a cuss word and what criteria did they use to determine if it should be a cuss word? Did someone say “f\*ck” and someone said “man, that sounds dirty” then poof it is now considered profanity? And why do we cuss when we are angry and or in pain? Even people that don’t cuss usually use profanity when they hurt themselves or real angry? Why? Because we saw are parents do it or what? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-curse-words-especially-when-we-are-emotional/33042/2 "2000-09-13T20:42:49Z")
Cuss/curse words typically involve anatomical functions. Why? Because those are considered obscene. Your waste that you excrete smells nasty and so is unappealing, so what better terms to use for disgust? Similarly, sexual function has for some reason achieved the perception of impolite. Okay, so why do we use these impolite terms to express disgust, anger, and other extreme emotions? It has to to with shock factor. When you’re really worked up, you want to express to the world just how bad you feel. So you use a word that makes them react with shock. To the Victorians, saying “breast” would be enough. However, our open society has made the offensive commonplace, and losing it’s power. So we have to strive harder to find truly offensive words. There may be a component of it that is learned through watching adults and then duplicated. ---
**Author:** ![Wildest\_Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-curse-words-especially-when-we-are-emotional/33042/3 "2000-09-13T20:51:02Z")
Irishman, Thank you that does make sense. Especially the part about body waste and sex functions. Most “dirty” words are based on those “functions” or “parts” of those things. The rest of have to do with religious implication. Thanks. At first I didn’t think I was going to get an answer on this question. I still wonder how the word “f\*ck” originated? And why was it considered dirty while copulate or intercourse is not? ---
**Author:** ![Opus1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/858c86/32.png) [@Opus1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opus1)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-curse-words-especially-when-we-are-emotional/33042/4 "2000-09-13T21:17:59Z")
[http://www.jimgeary.com/scrab/CGPFAQ.HTM#QQ8](http://www.jimgeary.com/scrab/CGPFAQ.HTM#QQ8) Two potential etymologies, plus a book recommendation. ---
**Author:** ![sdimbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sdimbert/32/20204_2.png) [@sdimbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sdimbert)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-curse-words-especially-when-we-are-emotional/33042/5 "2000-09-13T22:10:59Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Wildest Bill \* > \*\*I still wonder how the word "f_ck" originated? And why was it considered dirty while copulate or intercourse is not? \*\* I whipped that damn Search Engine into submission. Whoo Hoooo! :ahem: OK, I knew I had posted this [before](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=22944&postid=429009&postid=429009). > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by me:_ > I taught English for a while in a Private Religious High School. Without fail, the issue of “bad words” came up at least once every year in every class I taught. > > I object to the very idea that some words are “bad.” At the risk of sounding like I am over-simplifying things: > words are not bad or good - they are sounds to which we ascribe meaning and emotional value. > > The dictionary gives the etymology of “fuck” as: > > > [@](#): > > > > - > > > > akin to Dutch fokken, to breed (cattle), Swedish dialect fokka to copulate.\* > > I didn’t know that until today. When the issue came up in my classroom, I explained (what I thought was) the straight dope to my students - that, in the Puritan Colonies, adulterers were often placed in the stocks For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. Oftentimes, the crime’s name was abbreviated, and the word was born. > > In any case, my story is a good one, even if it isn’t true. I explained to my students that, even though I don’t believe in “bad” words, I do believe in powerful ones. Words carry weight, and some words are weightier than others. Just as a sledgehammer is the wrong tool to use to tack up paneling, “fuck” is often too powerful a word to use in most company. > > This lesson always led to a notable decrease in my students’ use of “profanity” both in their writing and thier speech. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-curse-words-especially-when-we-are-emotional/33042/6 "2000-09-13T22:16:20Z")
**Cecil Adams** on [What’s the origin of the “F” word?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_268b.html) ---
**Author:** ![Anti\_Pro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Anti\_Pro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anti_Pro)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2000, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-curse-words-especially-when-we-are-emotional/33042/7 "2000-09-14T01:39:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > And why do we cuss when we are angry and or in pain? Even people that don’t cuss usually use profanity when they hurt themselves or real angry? Why? Because we saw are parents do it or what? > \*\* I’ve been hurt pretty badly, WB, and I still don’t curse. I think if you don’t use swear words in any way, you’re not likely to when you’re hurt. And my father used to swear like ‘a sailor’, but then again he WAS one, so I guess he had it coming to him legally! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Yue\_Han](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/eada6e/32.png) [@Yue\_Han](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yue_Han)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2000, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-curse-words-especially-when-we-are-emotional/33042/8 "2000-09-14T02:14:23Z")
This is probably in all those links. I dunno, I didn’t take time to read them, which means other people probably didnt either, so I’ll say it here anyway. Many English curse words are the Anglo-Saxon terms for various bodily fuctions. Then the French invaded, and the dominant, elite culture demanded the use of words with Latin roots. So the Angles were forced to say, for instance, ‘copulate’ instead of ‘fuck,’ which was their perfectly ordinary word for having sex. Of course, the demands of the elite didn’t really work out that well, and the Anglo-Saxon words lived on as “impolite” words. The other swear words tend to cast doubt on a person’s parentage; e.g. son of a bitch, bastard, bitch (a female dog, y’know.) –John