Latin profanity

Latin profanity is the profane, indecent, or impolite vocabulary of Latin, and its uses. Words deemed profane were described as obsc(a)ena (obscene, lewd, unfit for public use), or improba (improper, in poor taste, undignified). Profanities occurred rarely in classical Latin, limited to satirical works and commentaries on word usage. But they could be found in Vulgar Latin (a phrase which means "the language spoken by the common people").

Since profanities are informal and more often spoken than committed to paper, it is worthwhile to note several written sources of Latin profanity:

Mentula is the basic Latin word for penis. Its status as a basic obscenity is confirmed by the Priapeia 29, in which mentula and cunnus are given as ideal examples of obscene words:

Verpa is also a basic Latin obscenity for "penis". It appears less frequently in Classical Latin, but it does appear in Catullus 47:

Verpus, adjective and noun, referred to a man whose glans was exposed, either by an erection or by circumcision; thus Juvenal has

The exact etymology of mentula is somewhat obscure, although outwardly it would appear to be a diminutive of mēns, gen. mentis, the "mind" (i.e.; "the little mind"). Mentum is the chin. Cicero's letter 9:22 ad Familiares relates it to menta, a spearmint stalk. Tucker's Etymological Dictionary of Latin relates it to ēminēre, "to project outwards", and mōns, "a mountain", all of which suggest an Indo-European *men-.

Verpa probably relates to something "thrust" or "thrown"; compare Dutch werpen, Danish verfe, Icelandic varpa, Lithuanian varpa, and Old English weorpan (the root of English ), all meaning "to throw".

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