Italian profanity

Profanity

Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...

 ("bestemmie" when referred to religious topics) refers to a set of words considered blasphemous or inflammatory in the Italian language

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

.

Italian language is considered a language with a large set of inflammatory terms and phrases, almost all of which originate from the several dialects and languages of Italy, such as the Tuscan dialect

Tuscan dialect

The Tuscan language , or the Tuscan dialect is an Italo-Dalmatian language spoken in Tuscany, Italy.Standard Italian is based on Tuscan, specifically on its Florentine variety...

, which had a very strong influence in modern standard Italian, which is widely known to be based on Florentine language

Florentine language

The Florentine language was the language spoken in the Italian city of Florence. It became the national language of the Kingdom of Italy when it was established in 1861. It is a form of Tuscan dialect....

. Several of these words are cognate

Cognate

In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...

s to other Romance languages, such as Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

, Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 and French. Profanities differ from region to region, however a number of them are diffuse enough to be more closely associated to Italian language and featured in all the more popular Italian dictionaries.

List of profanities in Italian language

Generally speaking, the following words provide a sufficient representation of Italian profanities used universally in the whole country:

• balle/palle: balls; see also coglione;
• bastardo: bastard;
• cacare/cagare: verbal form of the same context of merda, meaning to shit, or to "take a dump", etc. It derives from Latin cacare, which is still widely used, especially in Central and Southern Italy. It is the equivalent of the Spanish cagar. The exclamation vai a cagare (go to take a dump) is used as the English "fuck off". The unfortunate lover will say: "non mi caga", i. e. "she does not give a damn about me".
• cazzo (pl. cazzi): is the equivalent of dick
  Penis
  The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
  
   or cock, also used as an interjection
  Interjection
  In grammar, an interjection or exclamation is a word used to express an emotion or sentiment on the part of the speaker . Filled pauses such as uh, er, um are also considered interjections...
  
  , "Cazzo!", meaning "[Oh,] Fuck!". When used in compound expression, cazzo almost always indicates a negative meaning; for instance:
  • cazzata, bullshit or a stupid action;
  • cazzaro/cazzone, a liar by habit;
  • testa di cazzo, dickhead, means a nasty person.
  • a cazzo di cane or alla cazzo di cane, abbreviated as alla cazzo: doing things in a very bad/messed up way (lit. "the dog's dick way").
  • cazzuto, on the other hand, is used as a vulgar substitute for "tough" or "cool".
  • incazzato, enraged
  • sono cazzi, it's tough, it is a difficult/painful situation
  • sono cazzi amari, it's very tough, it is a very difficult/painful situation, also "a pain in the ass'.
  • fatti i cazzi tuoi, an expression to denote "mind your own business" (lit. "mind your own dicks").
  • non me ne importa/frega un cazzo, is a rough way to say "I don't care", "I don't give a damn".
  • mi sta sul cazzo, literally "He/She stands on my dick", is a rough expression meaning "I can't stand him/her", referring to someone the speaker considers an unpleasant person. In spite of its literal meaning, it's used by both male and female Italians.

The expression Col cazzo is used to violently contradict what was being discussed, like "my arse" in English ("Col cazzo che vincerete la partita!" = "You'll win the match, my arse!"). Col cazzo is also used as an interjection ("Vieni a casa mia?", "Col cazzo!" = "Are you coming at my place?", "I'm fucked if I do!/Forget it!"). Sto cazzo (literally meaning "This dick") has essentially the same meaning as col cazzo, but it's only used as an interjection. The same expression at plural, Sti cazzi, is used to express admiration and/or surprise as in, "Ho vinto alla lotteria!" - "Sti cazzi!" (- I won the lottery! - Wow!). The same expression, in other regions is used to show lack of interest in something, like "I don't give a fuck" in English ("Ho vinto alla lotteria!" - "Sti cazzi!" = "- I won the lottery! - ...like I give a fuck!"). The expression Grazie al cazzo (lit. Thanks to the dick) is used to address a trivial statement, as in " - Parla inglese molto bene. - Grazie al cazzo, sua madre è inglese!" ("He speaks very good English. - Not surprising, his mother's English!").

Also used to reinforce a question ("Che cazzo è?" = "What the fuck is it?" or "Chi cazzo sei?" = "Who the fuck are you?") and even as an interrogative pronoun in its own right ("[Che] cazzo vuoi?" = "What the fuck do you want?", or "[Che] cazzo ti frega?" = "Why the fuck do you care?"). Using "cazzo" in this sense signals anger or aggressiveness.

• coglione (pl. coglioni): literally an offensive version of testicle
  Testicle
  The testicle is the male gonad in animals. Like the ovaries to which they are homologous, testes are components of both the reproductive system and the endocrine system...
  
  ; where referred to a person, it usually means idiot
  Idiot
  An idiot, dolt, or dullard is a mentally deficient person, or someone who acts in a self-defeating or significantly counterproductive way. Archaically the word mome has also been used. The similar terms moron, imbecile, and cretin have all gained specialized meanings in modern times. An idiot is...
  
  , burk, twit, fool. In addition, it can be used on several phrases such as avere i coglioni (literally, to have the balls, that is, to be very courageous), avere i coglioni girati (literally, to have turned testicles) which means to be angry/in a bad mood, or essere un coglione (to be a fool). Sometimes Coglione was also featured in worldwide news when used by Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi
  Silvio Berlusconi
  Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
  
   referring to those who would not vote for him during the 2006 Italian election campaign
  Italian general election, 2006
  In the Italian general election, 2006 for the renewal of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Italy held on April 9 and April 10, 2006 the incumbent prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the center-right House of Freedoms, was narrowly defeated by Romano Prodi, leader of the center-left The...
  
  . It derives from Latin culio, pl. culiones, and is thus cognate
  Cognate
  In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
  
   to the Spanish
  Spanish language
  Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
  
   cojones
  Cojones
  Cojones is a vulgar Spanish word for testicles, denoting courage when used in the phrase "tener cojones" . It is considered a curse word when use by itself as an expletive in Spanish...
  
  ;
• cornuto: cuckold
  Cuckold
  Cuckold is a historically derogatory term for a man who has an unfaithful wife. The word, which has been in recorded use since the 13th century, derives from the cuckoo bird, some varieties of which lay their eggs in other birds' nests...
  
   - referring to a person whose spouse is cheating on him. Occasionally it might be coupled with the corna
  Corna
  The sign of the horns is a hand gesture with a variety of meanings and uses in various cultures. It is formed by extending the index and little fingers while holding the middle and ring fingers down with the thumb.-Superstition:...
  
   when saying that. In southern Italy it is considered a rough insult.
• culo: rough name for buttocks or anus, comparable to the English
  English language
  English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
  
   word arse
  Ass
  Ass may refer to:* The mammal Equus africanus asinus better known as the Donkey** Asinus subgenus* North American English informal term for buttocks* áss, one of the Æsir in Norse mythology* Ass , by Badfinger...
  
  . It can also mean luck
  Luck
  Luck or fortuity is good fortune which occurs beyond one's control, without regard to one's will, intention, or desired result. There are at least two senses people usually mean when they use the term, the prescriptive sense and the descriptive sense...
  
   and faggot. The popular expression "Avere una faccia da culo" ("To have an arse-like face") indicates a cheeky, brazen-faced person, and often has a positive connotation. In some regions, "Stare sul culo" is used as a variant of "Stare sul cazzo", both indicating dislike for someone else. It derives from Latin culus.
• figa/fica: (Northern/Southern) is the rough name for vagina
  Vagina
  The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
  
  , equivalent to pussy
  Pussy
  Pussy is an English word meaning:* Cat* The human female genitalia, for the slang term related to genital anatomy.* Pejoratively, cowardice or weakness as an insult in general- Etymology :The origins of the word are unknown...
  
   or cherry
  Cherry
  The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
  
  . However, it can also roughly mean sexually attractive woman. Vagina is also used, but, as in English, it is not outrageous. Figa is unique in that it has generally positive meaning (albeit vulgar), can be used as an adjective
  Adjective
  In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
  
   and even conjugated in masculine form: as an adjective, it is the most common translation for "cool
  Cool (aesthetic)
  Something regarded as cool is an admired aesthetic of attitude, behavior, comportment, appearance and style, influenced by and a product of the Zeitgeist. Because of the varied and changing connotations of cool, as well its subjective nature, the word has no single meaning. It has associations of...
  
  "; as a masculine noun, figo, it indicates a "cool guy". In Lombardy, it is also used as a common interjection with no particularly rough meaning.
• finocchio: (lit.: 'fennel') a male homosexual; faggot; poof. A suggestive and very popular hypothesis suggests it may derive from the age of the Holy Inquisition in the Papal State, when fennel seeds would be thrown on homosexuals executed by burning at the stake — in order to mitigate the stench of burned flesh. There is no proof that this is the case, however.
• fottere: equivalent to the English verb to fuck (see also "scopare"). From Latin futuere; can be used also as "fraud" or "don't take care" (me ne fotto di te - "I don't care about you); said about an object it has the same meaning of the verb to steal (gli hanno fottuto la macchina - "they stole his car"); being fooled (ti ha fottuto - he fooled you).
• fregare: equivalent as above, but milder. It's almost not a profanity anymore and literally means to rob.
• frocio: roughly equivalent to the English faggot
  Faggot (epithet)
  Faggot, often shortened to fag, is a pejorative term and common slur used chiefly in North America against homosexual males. Its pejorative use has spread from the United States to varying extents elsewhere in the English-speaking world through mass culture, including movies, music, and the...
  
  , this term originated in Rome
  Rome
  Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
  
   but is now widely used nationwide. Less-used synonyms include ricchione (mainly Southern Italy, especially in the Naples area), culattone or culo (mainly in Northern Italy), busone (common in Emilia-Romagna
  Emilia-Romagna
  Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
  
   and also a rough synonym for lucky) and finocchio (see);
• gnocca (pl. gnocche): typical Bolognese version of figa; is mostly conjugated in its feminine form although sometimes can be used on the masculine form. It is diffuse nationwide to refer to an attractive woman;
• inculare, which literally means "to penetrate somebody's ass" can also be used figuratively meaning respectively "to deceive" and "fraud"; the related term inculata or inculone mean scam or a bad deal.
• mannaggia: a generic expression of frustration, mostly used in Southern Italy; often translated as damn, but has no direct translation. Actually, it comes from the contraction of a former utterance, mal ne aggia, which means in ancient italian "may he/she get mischief out of it". Used also in English books, such as Mario Puzo
  Mario Puzo
  Mario Gianluigi Puzo was an American author and screenwriter, known for his novels about the Mafia, including The Godfather , which he later co-adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola...
  
  's The Fortunate Pilgrim
  The Fortunate Pilgrim
  The Fortunate Pilgrim is a 1965 novel by Mario Puzo. It deals with the Angeluzzi-Corbos family, a family of immigrants living an adopted life in New York City. The head of the family is Lucia Santa, a wife, widow and mother of two families. It is her formidable will that steers them through the...
  
  ;
• merda (pl. merde) : is equivalent to shit
  Shit
  Shit is usually considered vulgar and profane in Modern English. As a noun it refers to fecal matter and as a verb it means to defecate or defecate in; in the plural it means diarrhea...
  
  . It can be used in some extent as an interjection, as happens with cazzo;
• mignotta: same meaning of "puttana"; according to some sources it may be the contraction of the Latin matris ignotae (unknown mother), where the note filius m. ignotae (son of unknown mother) appeared on the registries referred to abandoned children; other sources derive it from the French mignoter (to caress) or mignon/mignonne.
• minchia: the same meaning as cazzo but notably a feminine name, it originates from Sicilian language
  Sicilian language
  Sicilian is a Romance language. Its dialects make up the Extreme-Southern Italian language group, which are spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands; in southern and central Calabria ; in the southern parts of Apulia, the Salento ; and Campania, on the Italian mainland, where it is...
  
  ; nowadays it is common anywhere in Italy, where t is also used as exclamation of surprise, or even appreciation. It is used in the expression "testa di minchia" (see testa di cazzo). It is also featured in a song by American musician (of Sicilian descent) Frank Zappa
  Frank Zappa
  Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
  
  , named Tengo na minchia tanta (I've got a dick this big). It derives from Latin mentula;
• pezzo di merda: literally "piece of shit", "sei un pezzo di merda!" = "you are a piece of shit!" it is an insult broadly used all across the country;
• pompino: blow job (literally a "little pump"); also bocchino is used;
  • pompinara: a girl who is used/abused as a giver of oral sex (a "little pumper");
• puttana: from Vulgar Latin putana, is roughly equivalent to the English bitch, or whore. For instance, "Figlio di puttana" = "Son of a bitch". Equivalent forms are troia (lit. female of the pig), zoccola (lit. female of the rat) and mignotta (of unknown mother), the latter mainly used in Rome
  Rome
  Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
  
  . Many local equivalents such as baldracca and battona are also used. Derived terms:
  • figlio di puttana: "son of a bitch";
  • puttanata: idiocy.
  • porca puttana/puttana troia: Interjection roughly equivalent to "For fuck's sake" in English, used to express frustration
• sborra: is equivalent to the English "cum", meaning sperm
  Sperm
  The term sperm is derived from the Greek word sperma and refers to the male reproductive cells. In the types of sexual reproduction known as anisogamy and oogamy, there is a marked difference in the size of the gametes with the smaller one being termed the "male" or sperm cell...
  
  , as in english, the verb "to cum" can be traslated as "Venire" that means "To Come" Either;
• scopare: literally to sweep, but used also with the meaning of to fuck. The most used term for to fuck and it is vulgar. The way to motion this is by motioning a honk with the hand.
• sega (pl. seghe): (literally "saw"); used to refer to male masturbation or a handjob
  Handjob
  Handjob is a slang or informal word referring to an act of manual stimulation of a male's penis by a sexual partner, whether female or male, usually to the point of orgasm and ejaculation. The act is similar to male masturbation, though the latter is performed by a male on himself...
  
  ; it is used also to indicate a worthless person (Sei una sega - You are a good-for-nothing), sometimes strengthened as mezza sega. There are plenty of local synonyms, like pippa or pugnetta. Derived terms:
  • (non) fare una sega, literally to (not) masturbate someone but used for "to do nothing" (the negation "non" can be omitted)
  • farsi una sega reflexive form of the above, to masturbate
  • segaiolo which is used as a derogatory term to indicate someone who frequently masturbates.
  • "mi fa 'na sega" (used in Tuscany) means "who cares?" in the same are So 'na sega, meaning "I don't know".
• stronzo (pl. stronzi): asshole, bastard. Literally it means "turd", "piece of shit"; The feminine stronza is best translated as "bitch".
• troia: see "puttana"; literally, the "troia" is the female of the pig, like the French "truie".
• vaffanculo: "fuck you!", "fuck off!", "bugger off!". It's a contraction of "vai a fare in culo" (literally "go to do it in the ass"). "Vattela a pijà 'n der culo" is the Romanesco
  Romanesco
  Romanesco or Romanesque is a regional language or sociolect subsumed within the Italian language spoken in Rome. It is part of the Central Italian dialects and is thus genetically closer to the Tuscan dialect and Standard Italian....
  
   form for vaffanculo, while in Northern Italy
  Northern Italy
  Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
  
   is also used "Vai a cagare" (lit. "go to shit"). Famously used by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
  Antonin Scalia
  Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
  
   in reference to his critics. http://www.slate.com/id/2138117/ http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060424/epps Frequently misspelled and/or mispronounced "va fangool"; sometimes the "va" is omitted, as demonstrated in the film Grease
  Grease (film)
  Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
  
   (at the end of the "Sandra Dee" skit, performed by Stockard Channing
  Stockard Channing
  Stockard Channing is an American stage, film and television actress. She is known for her portrayal of First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing; for playing Betty Rizzo in the film Grease; and for her role as Ouisa Kittredge in the play Six Degrees of Separation and its...
  
  ).
• zoccola: see "puttana"; the roman whore wore platform shoes which were known as "socci", Italian "zoccoli".

Regional profanities

• belìn: genoese for "dick"; it is widely used as a vulgar intensifier.
• bagascia: genoese for "whore"; it is used also in other part of north Italy instead of "puttana" but usually it has a milder tone
• ciolla (pl. ciolle): as cazzo, sicilian and calabrese;
• fregna: see "figa/fica", it is used in Lazio
• mona: used mainly in Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino. Literaly "figa" (including derivative meanings like "attractive woman"), but also used as the British "twat", in which case it can be applied to people of either gender;
• mortacci tua (morˈtattʃi ˈtuːa): used mainly in Rome, it is an insult to somebody's dead familiar members, and is the shortening of "L'anima de li mortacci tua" (lit. The soul of your bad dead relatives). In Romanesco
  Romanesco
  Romanesco or Romanesque is a regional language or sociolect subsumed within the Italian language spoken in Rome. It is part of the Central Italian dialects and is thus genetically closer to the Tuscan dialect and Standard Italian....
  
   it's also used as an exclamation ("Ho vinto alla lotteria! - Mortacci tua!" = "I won the lottery! - Wow, you're so lucky!"). It is the cognate of Neapolitan "L'anema de chi t'è muorto" (lit. The soul of your dead [relatives]) even if it has a worse insulting meaning in Naples;
• pirla, pistola: twit; they are both mainly used in Lombardy
  Lombardy
  Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
  
  , the latter literally meaning "gun" (but it's a metaphor for "cock", hence the derogatory meaning); both these terms mean a stupid person
• piciu, term used in Piedmont
  Piedmont
  Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
  
  , with a similar meaning to pirla.
• pucchiacca:see "figa/fica", it is used in Campania
  Campania
  Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
  
   and Calabria
  Calabria
  Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
  
  
• sorca/sticchio regional variants of ""figa/fica used respectively in Lazio and Campania/Sicily. Sticchio is a masculine noun.
• soccia/suca: literally suck (my dick
  Penis
  The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
  
  /cock); mainly used in Emilia/Sicily.

• The expression Per l'anima del cazzo (lit. For the dick's soul ) widely used in Bologna refers to something which ends up to be useless, like in " - Se questo articolo non lo legge nessuno e' stato fatto per l'anima del cazzo" ("If nobody reads this article, it ends up being useless")

Profanity in literature

Italian writers have often used profanity for the spice it adds to their pages. This is an example from a seventeenth century collection of tales, the Pentamerone

Pentamerone

The Pentamerone is a seventeenth-century fairy tale collection by Italian poet and courtier Giambattista Basile.-Background:...

, by the Neapolitan Giambattista Basile

Giambattista Basile

Giambattista Basile was an Italian poet, courtier, and fairy tale collector.- Biography :Born to a Neapolitan middle-class family, Basile was, during his career, a courtier and soldier to various Italian princes, including the doge of Venice. According to Benedetto Croce he was born in 1575, while...

:

Ah, zoccaro, frasca, merduso, piscialetto, sauteriello de zimmaro, pettola a culo, chiappo de 'mpiso, mulo canzirro! ente, ca pure le pulece hanno la tosse! va', che te venga cionchia, che mammata ne senta la mala nuova, che non ce vide lo primmo de maggio! Va', che te sia data lanzata catalana o che te sia dato stoccata co na funa, che non se perda lo sango, o che te vangano mille malanne, co l'avanzo e priesa e vento alla vela, che se ne perda la semmenta, guzzo, guitto, figlio de 'ngabellata, mariuolo!

This tirade could be translated like this:

Ah, good for nothing, feather, full of shit, piss-in-your-bed, jack of the harpsichord

Harpsichord

A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...

, shirt on the arse

Ass

Ass may refer to:* The mammal Equus africanus asinus better known as the Donkey** Asinus subgenus* North American English informal term for buttocks* áss, one of the Æsir in Norse mythology* Ass , by Badfinger...

, loop of the hanged, hard-headed mule! Look, now also lice cough loudly! Go, that palsy get you, that your mom

MOM

-Mother:* Mom , is a term used predominantly in North American English speaking countries in reference to a mother, the female parent* Soccer mom, demographic group of women with school-age children, a term used in North America-Other:...

 get the bad news, that you cannot see the first of May. Go, that a Catalan spear pass through you, that a rope be tied around your neck, so that your blood won't be lost, that one thousand illnesses, and someone more, befall you, coming in full wind, that your name be lost, brigand, poor, son of a whore, thief."

Blasphemous profanity

Profanities in the original meaning of blasphemous profanity are part of the ancient tradition of the comic cults, which laughed and scoffed at the deity. In the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 Europe the most improper and sinful "oaths" where those invoking the body of the Lord and its various parts, as the Italian Pote de Christo! ("Christ's cunt"), and these were precisely the oaths most frequently used.

In some areas of Italy, such as Umbria

Umbria

Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...

, Veneto

Veneto

Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...

, Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Friuli–Venezia Giulia is one of the twenty regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The capital is Trieste. It has an area of 7,858 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is...

, Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna

Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....

, Marche

Marche

The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...

 and Tuscany

Tuscany

Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....

, blasphemy is somewhat more common.

Gravity

In Italian language

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

 profanities belonging to this category are called bestemmie (singular: bestemmia), in which God

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

, the Virgin Mary, Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

, the Saints or the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 are insulted. This category is so strong it is usually frowned upon even by people who would make casual or even regular use of the profanities above.

Bestemmiare is still considered a strong social taboo. For example, anyone caught uttering bestemmie in the Italian Big Brother (Grande Fratello) "must be immediately expelled", because they offend "millions of believers". Uttering bestemmie is widely seen as a vice, and is often listed together with smoking, drinking and substance abuse.

Legal status

Until 1999, uttering this class of profanities in public was considered a misdemeanor

Misdemeanor

A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...

 in Italy (although enforcement was all but nonexistent). Some local administrations still ban the practice. For example, the Comune of Brignano Gera d'Adda

Brignano Gera d'Adda

Brignano Gera d'Adda is a comune in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about 35 km east of Milan and about 20 km south of Bergamo.-Main sights:...

, after the curate

Curate

A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...

 complained about the frequency of blasphemous prophanity in the parish recreation centre, banned the practice in the civic centre and in all places of retail business, be it public or private. As of July 2011, the laws in force in Italy identifies as a bestemmia only the profanities related directly to god. Any insult to Mary or the various saints don't actually represent a "bestemmia" or any violation of existing laws and rules.

Taxonomy

By far the most common bestemmie used to insult God (Dio) are "Dio porco", "Porco dio" and "Dio cane".

• Porco Dio: Literally "God (is a) pig
  Pig
  A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
  
  /filthy"; there is no meaning-equivalent in English. An expression somewhat similar, just for the frequency of its use, is goddammit.
• Dio porco/Dio maiale: God (is a) pig, as above.
• Orco dio: In some parts of Italy, most notably the North, regional intonations tend to drop, or place very little emphasis on the first syllable of a word. In this case, this is a contraction of "porco dio", famously uttered by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
  Silvio Berlusconi
  Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
  
   as part of a controversial joke.
• Dio cane: God (is a) dog
  Dog
  The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
  
  .
• Dio maledetto: God (is) damned.
• Dio boia: God (is an) executioner
  Executioner
  A judicial executioner is a person who carries out a death sentence ordered by the state or other legal authority, which was known in feudal terminology as high justice.-Scope and job:...
  
  .
• Dio bestia: God (is a) beast
  Animal
  Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
  
  .
• Dio ladro: God (is) thief.
• Dio merda: God (is) shit
  Shit
  Shit is usually considered vulgar and profane in Modern English. As a noun it refers to fecal matter and as a verb it means to defecate or defecate in; in the plural it means diarrhea...
  
  .
• Dio schifoso: God (is) filthy.
• Dio letamaio, in Veneto
  Veneto
  Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
  
   Dio luamaro: God (is a) dunghill.
• Puttana la Madonna/Madonna puttana: Virgin Mary (is a) whore.
• Vacca Madonna: Virgin Mary (is a) cow; equivalent to Virgin Mary is a bitch.
• Porca Madonna : Virgin Mary (is a) dirty pig / bloody Virgin Mary.
• Mannaggia Cristo: bloody Jesus Christ.
• Puttana Eva: Eve
  Eve
  Eve is the first woman created by God in the Book of Genesis.Eve may also refer to:-People:*Eve , a common given name and surname*Eve , American recording artist and actress-Places:...
  
   (is a) whore. Much milder than any of the above, arguably not a bestemmia.

It is possible to see sharp geographical differences in the use frequency of these profanities.
Dio boia is mainly used in Tuscany

Tuscany

Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....

 and Veneto

Veneto

Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...

, while "Dio can" ( phonetically: d̪ìɔ kàŋ, typical dialect form for Dio cane) is peculiar of Veneto

Veneto

Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...

.
Dio lupo (God (is a) wolf), along with other variations involving animals, is very common in Umbria

Umbria

Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...

.
Another very important thing to know is that blasphemies are not considered everywhere in the same way, shouting "Porco dio" within the roads of Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

 or Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 is not particularly serious as for citizens of these areas is very common to hear or to say a profanity involving God, while saying the same word in Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

 is considered very offensive and will not be taken easily.

Sometimes people may try to ensue hilarity by using rhyming or creativity in their profanity, as in Porco Dio, porca Madonna e tutti gli angeli in colonna, literally insulting "God

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

, the Holy Mother and all the angels in line".

Minced oaths

These profanities are also commonly altered to minced oath

Minced oath

A minced oath is an expression based on a profanity or a taboo term that has been altered to reduce the objectionable characteristics.Many languages have such expressions...

s with very slight changes in order not to appear blasphemies. For instance:

• Porco zio, using zio instead of Dio, where zio is Italian for uncle
  Uncle
  An uncle is a type of familial relationship.Uncle may also refer to:* Uncle , by J. P. Martin* U.N.C.L.E., a fictional organization in the TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E....
  
  . Other similar minced oaths can be created also replacing "Dio" with a series of existent or meaningless terms like disi, diaz, due, disco, dinci ecc.
• Maremma maiala, using maremma instead of Madonna, where Maremma
  Maremma
  The Maremma is a vast area in Italy bordering the Tyrrhenian Sea, consisting of part of south-western Tuscany - Maremma Livornese and Maremma Grossetana , and part of northern Lazio - Maremma Laziale .The poet Dante Alighieri in his Divina Commedia places the...
  
   is a seaside zone of Tuscany. Curiously, the former is actually widely used in Tuscanian dialect, whereas the latter is seldom used. An expression somewhat similar is Maremma bucaiola (bucaiola means penetrated in the ass).
• Porca madoska, using madoska instead of Madonna, where madoska means nothing and it sounds like a Russian version of "Madonna".
• Cazzo di Budda! (Buddha's cock), is not considered blasphemous in Italy, and it is an alternative expression for the interjection
  Interjection
  In grammar, an interjection or exclamation is a word used to express an emotion or sentiment on the part of the speaker . Filled pauses such as uh, er, um are also considered interjections...
  
   "Cazzo!".
• Bio parco, means literally biological park and it's used instead of Dio porco. It's not common as the above but it's catching up.

Other minced oaths can be created on the fly when people begin to utter one of the above blasphemies but then choose to "correct" them in real time. The principal example is somebody beginning to say Dio can (where can means dog in many northern Italian dialects) and choosing to say instead Dio cantante (God (is a) singer) or Dio cantautore (God (is a) songwriter). Also it is very common to say Dio caro(typically used in Umbria), meaning "dear God" or Dio bono (with "bono" being a contraction of "buono", that means good) or Dio bonino (same meaning, typically used in Tuscany and Emilia Romagna).

Cristo! or Cristo santo!, used to express rage and/or disappointment (similar to "Oh my God" or "Holy Christ"), is usually not consider a bestemmia, though it could be assumed to violate the second commandment

Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...

of not making "wrongful use of the name of the Lord Thy God".