vulgarism

English

Etymology tree

English vulgar

Proto-Indo-European *-id-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti

Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō

Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)

Proto-Indo-European *-mos

Proto-Indo-European *-mós

Ancient Greek -μός (-mós)

Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der.

English -ism

English vulgarism

From vulgar + -ism.

vulgarism (countable and uncountable, plural vulgarisms)

Vulgarity.
- Walt Whitman quoted in 1998, Richard J. Ellis, The Dark Side of the Left: Illiberal Egalitarianism in America (page 79)
  Amidst his manuscript notes for Democratic Vistas he [Walt Whitman] wrote himself a reminder to "offset the statement of depravity [and] vulgarism ... of the masses by a full acknowledgment of the latent heroism."
(grammar) A word or term that is considered offensive or vulgar.
"Shit" is a vulgarism.
A spelling, word, or phrase used in common speech that is considered improper or incorrect for formal communication.
- 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Result”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 233:
  We never descended to the vulgarism of a quarrel. People said that neither of us had a heart, but it appears to me that politeness is an excellent substitute.
Editors of newspapers allow more vulgarisms to go to print today than they used to.

word or term that is considered offensive or vulgar — see also vulgarity

spelling, word, or phrase considered improper or incorrect for formal communication

vulgarism n (plural vulgarisme)