Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever by John McWhorter
What makes a word profane? It is not easy. Often a word will have fairly innocent origins, then gradually morph into an "unspeakable". The mores of the time strongly influence what is considered a "nasty" word. Deity, reproduction and excrement have been sources of profanity. Today, identity has become the primary taboo, with racial, ethnic and sexual orientation slurs being most "extreme". Words will often start innocent, and then morph through associated meanings and sound changes. Then the "obscenity" will change. The times will also influence the words. Euphemisms will then appear for the obscene words. These will continue to evolve. Innocent words of today may have come from this evolution, while the most extreme words today may have been innocent in the past.
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