Where does “obscene” come from?

Obscene comes from Middle French obscene, which originally referred to something offensive or indecent in nature.

obscene (English): Offensive to current standards of decency or...

Definitions

  1. Offensive to current standards of decency or...

Ancestry of “obscene”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchobscène—
2Latinobscenusinauspicious, ominous, portentous; repulsive,...
3Proto-Indo-Europeanḱweyn-to make dirty, soil; filth; mud; to soil; mud;...

Words derived from “obscene”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱweyn- →Every word from Latin obscenus →Every word from Middle French obscène →