vulgar

Where does the word "vulgar" come from? It comes from Latin vulgus, passing through Latin before entering English (1300s).

Vulgar’s story begins in Latin: vulgus meant “the common people, the crowd.” Jerome's Latin Bible was called the 'Vulgate', the common version. Within Latin, it grew into vulgaris by ancient. Of the common people, ordinary, from vulgus. It reached English by 1300s as vulgar. Settled as the English word originally for something common, later shifting to mean crude. Today, vulgar means lacking sophistication or good taste, crude or offensive.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient vulgus "the common people, the crowd", Jerome's Latin Bible was called the 'Vulgate', the common version.
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient vulgaris "of the common people, ordinary", of the common people, ordinary, from vulgus.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s vulgar "originally common or ordinary, later crude or offensive", settled as the English word originally for something common, later shifting to mean crude.