obscene English · revision 985

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /əbˈsin/; /əbˈsiːn/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|obscène]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|la|obscēnus|t=offensive, especially to modesty; originally ill-omened]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) a word of unknown origin,^(Etymonline) perhaps from ''ob'' “onto, before” and ''caenum'' “filth”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Offensive to the senses or to taste; disgusting, foul (1593).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “offensive to modesty or decency, lewd” followed almost at once (1598),^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and the Latin sense “ill-omened” was briefly used in the 17th century.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) In law, obscenity is the most severe category of indecency, defined in the United States by tests set by the Supreme Court in 1957 and 1973.^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) A modern weakened sense is “so excessive as to be offensive”, as in ''obscene wealth''.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1589 – ''obscenity''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1593 – disgusting, repulsive.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1598 – offensive to decency, lewd.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1635–56 – ill-omened (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Offensive to accepted standards of decency or modesty; [[indecent]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Tending to arouse lust; [[lewd]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Disgusting or repulsive to the senses.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # So excessive as to be offensive, as in ''obscene profits''.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[obscenely]]

+ * [[obsceneness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[obscenity]]

+ * [[lewd]]

+ * [[profane]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}