Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
PROFANITY
The most important meaning of profanity for the subject of language usage is “language that belittles or displays disrespect or contempt for sacred things.” “Taking the name of the Lord in vain” or other disrespectful reference to a religion, its symbols, or its beliefs still represents that specific sense of the word. But profanity has also generalized to mean to many people (both those who use such expressions and those for whom they are taboo) language that is simply distasteful, debased, or improper; hence profanity and obscenity are in some senses synonyms. One of the most interesting developments in recent American English usage has been the considerable weakening of the prohibitions against profanity in many contexts of language use wherein it had hitherto been taboo or much restricted.
