"Vulgarism" (also called scurrility) derives from Latin vulgus, the "mean folk", and has carried into English its original connotations linking it with the low and coarse motivations that were supposed to be naturally endemic to the meaner classes, who were not moved by higher motives like fame for posterity and honor among peers—motives that were alleged to move the literate classes. Thus the concept of vulgarism carries cultural freight from the outset, and from some social and religiou… (More on Vulgarity)