Maledicta (ISSN US 0363-3659) is a scholarly journal dedicated to the study of offensive and negatively-valued words and expressions. Its main areas of interest are the origin, etymology, meaning, use, and influence of vulgar, obscene, aggressive, abusive, and blasphemous language. It has been published since 1977. For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...

The journal prints articles on the following topics:

• Verbal Aggression
• Verbal Abuse
• Swearwords
• Insults
• Terms of Abuse
• Curses
• Damnations
• Blasphemy
• Scatology
• Taboo Language
• Exclamations
• Boasts and Tall Talk
• Euphemisms
• Terms of Endearment
• Pet Names
• Jargon of Subcultures
• Libel and Slander
• Nicknames
• Slurs
• Stereotypes
• Names of:
  • Races
  • Religions
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Nationalities
  • Professions
  • Age and Sex Groups
  • Animals
  • Plants
  • Objects
  • Countries
  • Places
  • Buildings
  • Organizations
• Terminology of:
  • Activities
  • Body Parts
  • Characteristics
  • Excretions
  • Sex
• Proverbs
• Sayings
• Similes
• Comparisons
• Metaphors
• Graffiti
• Satire and Sarcasm
• Affixes
• Gestures
• Physical Aggression
• Murder and Suicide

An insult is a statement or action which affronts or demeans someone. ... A curse is a prayer asking that a god or similar spirit bring misfortune to someone; an imprecation or execration, the opposite of a blessing. ... For the album by the Swedish band Opeth, see Damnation (album). ... Blasphemy is the defamation of the name of God or the gods, and by extension any display of gross irreverence towards any person or thing deemed worthy of exalted esteem. ... Scatology, or coprology, in medicine, biology and paleontology, is the study of feces. ... An exclamation is an excited utterance. ... A euphemism is a word or phrase used in place of a term that originally could not be spoken aloud (see taboo) or, by extension, terms which they consider to be disagreeable or offensive. ... Jargon redirects here. ... In biology, a subculture in a population of a microorganism is when one microbe colony in such a population is transferred onto blank growth medium and allowed to freely reproduce. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... A nickname is a short, clever, cute, derogatory, or otherwise substitute name for a person or things real name (for example, Nick is short for Nicholas). ... Terms of disparagement are pejorative terms such as yid, kike, nigger, whore, slut, fag and queer whose use usually arouses painful feelings in the target, members of the targeted group or sympathizers. ... In modern usage, a stereotype is a simplified mental picture of an individual or group of people who share a certain characteristic (or stereotypical) qualities. ... This article is about race as an intraspecies classification. ... Religion, a term sometimes used interchangeably with faith, is commonly defined as belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices and institutions associated with such belief. ... This article or section should be merged with ethnicity An ethnic group is a group of people who identify with one another, or are so identified by others, on the basis of a boundary that distinguishes them from other groups. ... Nationality is, in English usage, a legal relationship existing between a person and a state. ... A profession is a specialized work function within society, generally performed by a professional. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Bilateria Acoelomorpha Orthonectida Rhombozoa ? Myxozoa Superphylum Deuterostomia     Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Divisions Green algae land plants (embryophytes) non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses vascular plants (tracheophytes) seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongue ferns seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering... This article describes a type of political entity. ... The members of many species of living things are divided into two or more categories called sexes (or loosely speaking, genders). ... A proverb (from the Latin proverbium) is a pithy saying which had gained credence through widespread or frequent use. ... An adage is a short, but memorable saying, which holds some important fact of experience that is considered true by many people, or it has gained some credibility through its long use. ... Simile is an Italian musical term meaning similarly; it indicates that the performer should continue to apply the preceding directive, whatever it was. ... In language, a metaphor is a rhetorical trope where a comparison is made between two seemingly unrelated subjects. ... For the handwriting system, see Graffiti (Palm OS). ... Satire is a literary technique of writing or art which principally ridicules its subject (individuals, organizations, states) often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change. ... Sarcasm is the making of remarks intended to mock the person referred to (who is normally the person addressed), a situation or thing. ... An affix is a morpheme that is attached to a base morpheme to form a word. ... See mouse gesture for gestures in computing Military signalmen use hand and body gestures to direct flight operations aboard aircraft carriers. ... Murder is both a legal and a moral term, that are not always coincident. ... Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of intentionally ending ones own life. ...

External links

Official website (http://www.sonic.net/maledicta/)