English Explanatory Dictionary

vulgar

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Debased; uncouth; distasteful; obscene.
  2. Having to do with ordinary, common people.
  3. Common, usual; of the typical kind.
  4. Being a vulgar fraction.
noun
  1. A common, ordinary person.
  2. The common people.
  3. The language of a people, especially the commoners.

Pronunciation

/ˈvʌl.ɡə/ vŭlʹgər /ˈvʌl.ɡɚ/ en-us-vulgar.ogg

Word forms

vulgar more vulgar vulgarer most vulgar vulgarest vulgare vulgars

Etymology

From Middle English vulgare, from Latin vulgāris, from volgus, vulgus (“mob; common folk”), from Proto-Indo-European *welH-. Compare Welsh gwala (“plenty, sufficiency”), Ancient Greek ἁλία (halía, “assembly”), εἰλέω (eiléō, “to compress”), Old Church Slavonic великъ (velikŭ, “great”).

Synonyms

inappropriate debased uncouth offensive ignoble mean profane crass crude coarse adult bawdy blue cheeky dirty indecent filthy gross harlot impure ithyphallic lewd mucky naughty near the knuckle obscene off-colour racy raunchy ribald ribaudred ribaudrous risqué rorty salacious saucy shocking sluttish slutlike slutty smutty spicy tartish tarty trampy vulgar common popular vulgate vulgarized customary ordinary typical average medial basic bog-standard commonplace common-and-garden common-or-garden

Derived words

Vulgar Era vulgar fraction Vulgar Latin vulgar Marxism vulgarity vulgarian vulgate
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