Blasphemy
Words considered offensive to religious sensibilities. Many of the oldest English-language taboo words fall into this category. 'Damn' and 'hell' preceded most sexual and scatological terms as forbidden speech. The declining force of blasphemous language in secular societies is itself a significant linguistic phenomenon.
3 entries
Damn
/dæm/
From Old French damner, from Latin damnare ('to condemn, to inflict loss upon'), itself derived from damnum ('loss, dama...
Blasphemy Latin · c. 1280
Goddamn
/ˌɡɒdˈdæm/
A compound of 'God' and 'damn,' formed by the direct invocation of divine condemnation. The phrase 'God damn' was attest...
Blasphemy English (compound) · c. 1380
Hell
/hɛl/
From Old English hel or hell, from Proto-Germanic *haljō ('the underworld, concealed place'), from PIE root *kel- ('to c...
Blasphemy Old English · c. 725