While cleaning a bookcase I came across Eliade's book, "The Sacred and The Profane, and I got to wondering how "profane" came to mean something other than "common" or "worldly". Or maybe I should ask how we came to consider how so much that we do that is mundane to be "sacred" or somehow elevated above the ordinary. Ideas, anyone?

Asa, here is what Bob and z said about "profane" in June. Here is what z said: "the area outside of the fanum 'temple' was considered to be profanus 'unholy, not sacred, common, or profane'." That would perhaps be the reason?

Oooohhhh, I'm an idiot!!!

Sorry. Please delete the thread.

Asa, I had just remembered that we'd talked about it before somewhere. I hadn't remembered what was said, and obviously I found it quite interesting. The fact is, now that we've been going for 4 1/2 years, we will bring up subjects that we've talked about. If we worry about that every time we bring up a topic, nobody will post!

So let's take this one in a different direction. I looked profanity up in Wikipedia, and found this: "The original meaning of the term was restricted to blasphemy, sacrilege or saying the Lord's name in vain. Profanity represented a secular indifference to religion or religious figures, while blasphemy was a more offensive attack on religion and religious figures. However, the term has been extended to include expressions with scatological, sexist, derogatory, racist, or sexual themes. Compare the concept of the four-letter word. The more vague and inclusive interpretation blurs the distinction between categories of offensive words."

It's interesting that originally "blasphemy" was considered the more offensive attack and that "profanity" represented merely a secular indifference to religion. Also, I tend to think of "profanity" as swearing (rather vague, I know), but not so general as to include sexist or racist words. For example, I wouldn't call the n-word profanity exactly. Rude, insensitive, racist, but not necessarily profanity. Would you?

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
Also, I tend to think of "profanity" as swearing (rather vague, I know), but not so general as to include sexist or racist words. For example, I wouldn't call the n-word profanity exactly. Rude, insensitive, racist, but not necessarily profanity. Would you?

No, I would confine the use of profane (Verb, noun or adj) to its original meaning, from Latin profanus, literally ‘before (i.e. outside) the temple’, hence ‘not sacred, common’; also, ‘impious’. [OED] It is reasonably extended to mean: Not pertaining or devoted to what is sacred or biblical, esp. in profane history, literature; unconsecrated, secular, lay, common; civil, as distinguished from ecclesiastical.

But as in so many other words, it is, I suggest, devalued by extrapolating to rudeness, swearing, racism and so forth.

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