Common Words With Incredibly Offensive Origin

24 Common Words With Incredibly Offensive Origins
©Provided by Wealth of Geeks
Language evolves. It wraps layers of history, culture, and collective human experiences around simple syllables and sounds. Words slide into everyday language and they can sometimes unknowingly be the sharpest arrows in our quiver.

Those seemingly innocent words hide complex and dark origins in plain sight. They’re the terms we use without a second thought, rooted in racism, sexism, or other forms of discrimination. Understanding the history means understanding how our everyday language can perpetuate harm.

We curated a list by researching common word etymologies and historical usage. This means consulting multiple linguistic sources and historical texts to ensure that each word’s origin is accurately represented. We uncovered words whose meanings have shifted over time and those whose derogatory connotations may not be immediately obvious today.