Chelsea Stone
Dr. Daniel Mosser
ENGL 4054
29 April 2013
Evolution of the Word Vulgar: Original to Present Day Usage
English is a language that is and was largely influenced by other languages from around
the world, especially those languages that originated in lands nearby England while the English
language was developing. Many words have grown or evolved in meaning since their first
appearance in the English language as well. Some of these words’ meanings have changed from
a beginning point and circled back to their original meaning, making present day interpretations
equivalent to those originally applied to the word. More often seen, however, are words whose
definitions have evolved from the original and morphed into something else entirely, making
present day interpretations entirely different from original ones. An example of a word whose
definition has evolved greatly is discussed here: we will take a closer look at the definition and
usage of the word vulgar as it was used originally and how that usage has changed to lead to
present day usages.
Vulgar is an adjective that entered into the English language sometime between 1350 and
1400 A.D., and some scholars attribute the exact year 1391 to its inclusion in the language. It
entered into what was Middle English at the time, and would evolve with the language, along
with other additions to English, to remain present in Modern English. The term originated in
Latin, where many English words that are still used today also originated, as the word vulgāris,
which means “of or pertaining to the common people; common,” (Harper). The Latin word
vulgus is also closely related to the word vulgar, and means “the common people, multitude,
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crowd, or throng,” (Harper). The word clearly initially bore no negative connotations when it
was used to refer to people or to a large group of commoners. The meaning of the word vulgar
was innocent in itself, and was used by the elite to refer to common people, or those whom they
considered to be beneath them. Shakespeare also used the word vulgar to refer to common
people.
Shakespeare’s use of the term vulgar was in its original, harmless form, and can be seen
in his play As You Like It. In Act 5, Scene 1, he writes in the speech for the character
Touchstone, “He, sir, that must marry this woman. Therefore, you clown, abandon—which is, in
the vulgar, ‘leave’—the society—which in the boorish is ‘company’—of this female—which in
the common is ‘woman’;” (Greenblatt 435). In this quotation, Shakespeare uses repeated
explanations of different terms for the word vulgar to accurately describe what the character
Touchstone feels the character William should do about a woman of supposed ill repute. He
uses the term vulgar to describe words that are somewhat less sophisticated than the ones he
himself chooses to use with the idea that they will be more easily understood by those who are
less educated. In the example here, the word “leave” is a vulgar term for the word “abandon”,
the word “company” is a vulgar term for the word “society”, and “woman” is vulgar for the word
“female”. Shakespeare is writing the character Touchstone to be somewhat condescending and
demeaning while speaking to the character William. He uses vulgar, or more common terms, to
embody Touchstone’s belief in William’s lesser knowledge.
The Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage also provides seekers with a definition
meaning “common”. Part of the definition given by this dictionary says,
“Vulgar, as used in this dictionary, may have one of two meanings. It may simply mean
common, as distinguished from language used by educated, literate folk. As an example,
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see relocate/move . . . Its original meaning . . . simply was ‘to be associated with the
masses of common people,’ as in Shakespeare’s ‘the vulgar sort of marketmen.’”
Shakespeare is again quoted, and uses the term vulgar in the sense that is closest to its original
one—common, regular types of people. The elite and well-to-do are not included in the category
of vulgar in any sense, and likely would have been highly offended to be incorporated into this
category by superiors, equals, or inferiors, though the vast majority of people were a part of the
common masses and therefore were considered to be vulgar.
The part of the definition given for vulgar in the Harper Dictionary of Contemporary
Usage instructs the reader to “see relocate/move”, and the explanation given for this set of words
is a wonderful example of the original meaning given to the term vulgar (Morris 626). The use
of a slash between relocate and move is meant to indicate to the reader that the two words are
similar or identical in meaning, and therefore have the same definition in this dictionary. The
definition given for relocate/move says that the use of the word relocate over the word move is
“another Business English borrowing from sociological gobbledegook,” and that it is
“characteristic of the kind of mind that spawns these unnecessary additions to the vulgar tongue
that believes that any three syllable word is by definition preferable to a monosyllable” (Morris
522). Therefore, the word relocate is not a vulgar term, but rather is superfluous, unnecessary,
and uncommon in the view of the authors of the dictionary. Move, here, is the vulgar, common
term that the authors prefer over the gratuitous term relocate. In this case, the more everyday,
usual term is the one that is preferred by scholars.
The term vulgar has changed in meaning greatly from the time it entered the language,
however, and many modern day readers would not readily recognize “common” as a
recognizable definition for the word. In fact, readers today would not only refuse to recognize
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the older definition as acceptable, but most of them would simply not connect the older
definition of “common” with the term vulgar at all. Modern day readers are much more familiar
with the second definition found in the Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage, and many
others, such as Webster’s New World Dictionary and Dictionary.com. The second definition
given by the Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage says,
“vulgar may also, of course, have the meaning of bawdy, coarse, and offensive to many.
The word “obscene” is not used in this connection because the authors do not believe that
any word can be, in and of itself, ‘obscene’,” (Harper 626).
The above definition correlates with the third definition provided in Webster’s New World
Dictionary, which defines vulgar as “vernacular; lacking culture, taste, etc.; crude; boorish;
indecent or obscene,” (Agnes 724). The definition provided on Dictionary.com also agrees with
these definitions, saying vulgar means “characterized by ignorance of or lack of good breeding
or taste; indecent, obscene, or lewd; crude, coarse, or unrefined.” Today, when something is
described as being vulgar, it usually is not in any welcome or acceptable sense. When the term
vulgar is used in everyday conversation to describe any person or action, it is in a negative
manner, and is usually insulting to the person or action being described. A “vulgar person” is
generally thought to be someone who is lewd or offensive in their actions, or lacking in a decent
vocabulary and therefore resorts to using vulgarisms, or profanity. Profanity is now considered
to be an example of vulgar speech by today’s standards, and this use of the term vulgar does not
correlate with the original one at all.
Profanity, in modern day speech, is itself considered to be vulgar in nature. Children are
taught to guard their tongues and to avoid swear words, and are often punished if caught using
them. Examples of vulgar speech include, but are not limited to, the seven expletives that were
deemed “filthy” by George Carlin in his 1972 monologue, “Seven Words You Can Never Say on
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Television.” These profane terms are shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits,
respectively. While this list is far from extensive, it is certainly still full of terms that are
inappropriate by modern standards. The “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” are
prime examples of what modern audiences consider to be vulgarities. These words are shunned
by society as a whole, and they are inappropriate to use in most situations, formal or otherwise,
regardless of the age of the speaker. Vulgarities, or curse words, are considered to be poor
language, or language that has not been well thought out, and some people even see their usage
as a sign of ignorance or a lack of education. They are often used as descriptors where a less
offensive word would serve the purpose of the speaker equally well. Their use in conversation is
the choice of the speaker, and that choice is harshly judged by many who choose to avoid using
these “dirty words.”
Scholars even use the term vulgar to describe insinuations or innuendos made by people
today, and by authors that are now widely studied. People today find humor in statements that
are made with innocent intentions initially because the statement could be taken in a sexual or
inappropriate manner had it been spoken under different circumstances. The statement, “We
need to go deeper,” could be uttered in a workplace, for example, while working in the
construction area of a pipeline. The statement could also have sexual connotations, though, had
it been spoken in any place that was not the job site. A statement like this could be considered to
be a vulgar statement simply because of the possible sexual references, even though it was
initially spoken only in reference to something entirely unsexual.
Scholars in the modern era have deemed some of William Shakespeare’s colloquialisms
and innuendos to be vulgar for the modern reader as well. Two great examples of inappropriate
innuendos made my Shakespeare can be found in the play Othello. Iago reveals to Brabanzio,
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Desdemona’s father, that she and Othello are having sex. He says, “I am one, sir, that comes to
tell you that your daughter and the / Moor are now making the beast with two backs” (Greenblatt
1182). Of course, “the beast with two backs” is two people who are locked in a lovers embrace,
performing intercourse, but Shakespeare beats around the point by using a vulgar colloquialism
that, to some scholars, is more inappropriate than simply stating the situation. Iago also tells
Brabanzio that “an old black ram / Is tupping your white ewe” (Greenblatt 1181). Again, this is
obviously a sexual reference, and again, Shakespeare goes about saying “they’re having sex” in
an unnecessarily roundabout manner. These lines are considered to be vulgar in nature because
of what they are referring to, even though the words themselves are not vulgar in nature.
Shakespeare is famous not only for his extensive contributions to the English language, but also
for his talent in creating underhanded references where other authors would have taken a more
straightforward approach.
David Crystal makes a comment in his book The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English
Language about what he considers to be a vulgarism in work by Geoffrey Chaucer in his
distinctly conversational poetry. He quotes a few lines from some of Chaucer’s poetry, “for
Goddes bones, by Seinte Loy, olde fool, by my faith” as an example of name calling (Crystal
39). Crystal uses the term vulgarism in the more modern sense of the word—lewd or uncouth.
This opinion is another clear example of a scholar who uses the term vulgar to refer to something
that is untraditional, unrefined, or boorish in older literature.
From its entrance into the English language from Latin, to present day definitions, the
term vulgar has grown and changed in meaning considerably. It began as a word used to refer to
common people, and has evolved into a word that is used to describe inappropriate, lewd, or
dirty actions, people, or references. Vulgar is not the only word that has undergone such change,
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either. However, the change has been drastic in the word vulgar in a way that it has not
necessarily been in other terms. The change in definition and usage is an interesting one,
undoubtedly.
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Works Cited
Agnes, Michael. Webster's New World Dictionary. 5th ed. Cleveland, OH: Pocket Books
Reference, 2003. Print.
Carlin, George. "Filthy Words." Class Clown. Federal Communications Commission. 1972.
Speech.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. 2nd ed. Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press, 2011. 56-91. Print.
Greenblatt, Stephen. The Norton Shakespeare: Essential Plays, Sonnets. 2nd ed. New York, New
York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2009. 337-443. Print.
Harper, Douglas. “Vulgar.” Online Etymology Dictionary. Copyright Douglas Harper, 01 Jan.
2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. <http://etymonline.com/?term=vulgar>.
Morris, William and Mary, and 136 Distinguished Consultants on Usage. Harper Dictionary of
Contemporary Usage. New York, New York: 1975.
"vulgar." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 28 Apr. 2013. <Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vulgar>.