profanity

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from Latin profānitās. By surface analysis, profane + -ity.

1. The quality of being profane; quality of irreverence, of treating sacred things with contempt.

   “The overwhelming power of his imagination led him to contemplate acts of impiety and profanity, and to a vivid realisation of the dangers these involved.”

2. Obscene, lewd or abusive language.

   “He ran up and down the street screaming profanities like a madman.”

   “Swearing doesn't just mean what we now understand by "dirty words". It is entwined, in social and linguistic history, with the other sort of swearing: vows and oaths. Consider for a moment the origins of almost any word we have for bad language – "profanity", "curses", "oaths" and "swearing" itself.”