Obscene

Obscene

Adjective · /əbˈsiːn/

Definition

Offensive or disgusting by accepted moral standards, especially in sexual matters; repulsive; highly objectionable; (informal) offensively large or exaggerated — an obscene amount of money.

Origin

From Latin obscenus or obscaenus (ill-omened, abominable, indecent, filthy), of uncertain ultimate etymology. Possibly from ob- (in front of, against) + caenum (filth, mud), suggesting something filthy brought forward — something thrust in front of one offensively. Alternatively, possibly from scaena (stage, scene) with ob-, meaning off-stage or behind the scenes — material too offensive to be performed on the public stage (compare the etymology proposed for obscene as literally off-scene in theatrical Latin). Neither etymology being definitively established. The word entering English in the late sixteenth century, initially with a broad sense of ill-omened or morally repulsive, gradually narrowing toward specifically sexual offensiveness.