swearing
noun
- use bad language
Wiktionary
noun
Etymology: From Middle English sweryng; equivalent to swear + -ing.
- The act of swearing, or making an oath.
“No man is believed a jot the more for all the asseverations, damnings, and swearings he makes.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English sweryng; equivalent to swear + -ing.
- present participle and gerund of swear
“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.”