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The term four-letter word serves as a euphemism for words that are often considered profane or offensive.
The designation "four-letter" arises from the observation that many (though not all) popular or slang terms related to excretory functions, sexual activity, genitalia, blasphemies, and terms linked to Hell or damnation are incidentally four-character monosyllables. Notably, the term "four-letter word" does not strictly refer to words containing exactly four letters.[1][2][3]
The phrase has been in use in both the United States and the United Kingdom since at least 1886.[4]
- ^ Wright, Robin (29 March 2018). "For Trump, Diplomacy is a Four Letter Word". The New Yorker.
- ^ "Socialism Before it was a Four Letter Word". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- ^ "In Arkansas, Obama is a Four Letter Word Hampering Democrats". The Atlantic. 18 May 2014.
- ^ "four-letter word – Caught in the Web of Words". Retrieved 2021-12-28.