[2][3][4] The word dysphemism was composed from the Greek elements dys δύς "mis-" and pheme φήμη "speech, voice, reputation" in the late 19th century.
A dysphemism is a marked form (standing out as unusual or divergent) which expresses a speaker's view or attitude towards the listener or group.
Examples include "bitch", "pig", "swine", "chicken", "weasel", "sheep", "snake", "rat", and "jackass".
For instance, someone named Teresa who made overstated claims for a company-paid trip could be described as "the little witch who charmed the boss into approving that phony expense report".
However, in British, Australian, New Zealand, and South African English, the word "fanny" is slang for vulva and is considered to be vulgar.
Typically, the word "terrorist" refers to one who uses violence and fear as a means to pursue political, religious or ideological aims.
Dysphemic terms activate negative stereotypes present in the listener's memory and affect their interpretation of the given text.
The words "idiot" and "moron" were once polite terms to refer to people with mental disabilities,[13] but they are now rarely used without dysphemism.
"Nigger" would typically be dysphemistic; however, if used between African Americans it may be seen as neutral (although extremely casual) by the listener, depending on their social distance from the speaker and perceived status relative to the other party;[1] see "nigga".
Some terms like "Yankee" (for an American) or "punk" (for a late 1970s rocker), began as derogatory but were not considered such and adopted proudly by the named group.
There have also been movements to reclaim words for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and otherwise non-heterosexual people, such as "queer", "fag" and "dyke".
Many communities historically believed that bodily effluvia such as feces, spittle, blood, nail-parings, and hair-clippings were cursed.
In a study done at Monash and La Trobe Universities in Melbourne, Australia, subjects rated bodily effluvia according to how revolting they found them.