vulgar

See also: vulgär and vulgær

Contents

English

Alternative forms

• (early modern English): vulgare

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈvʌl.ɡə/
• (US) enPR: vŭlʹgər, IPA^(key): /ˈvʌl.ɡɚ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

vulgar (comparative vulgarer or more vulgar, superlative vulgarest or most vulgar)

1. Debased, uncouth, distasteful, obscene.
   • 1551, James A.H. Murray, editor, A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles: Founded Mainly on the Materials Collected by the Philological Society.‎^[1], volume 1, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1888, Part 1, page 217:

     Also the rule of false position, with dyuers examples not onely vulgar, but some appertaynyng to the rule of Algeber.

   • The construction worker made a vulgar suggestion to the girls walking down the street.
2. (classical sense) Having to do with ordinary, common people.
   • Bishop Fell

     It might be more useful to the English reader […] to write in our vulgar language.

   • Bancroft

     The mechanical process of multiplying books had brought the New Testament in the vulgar tongue within the reach of every class.

   • 1860, G. Syffarth, "A Remarkable Seal in Dr. Abbott's Museum at New York", Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis‎, age 265

     Further, the same sacred name in other monuments precedes the vulgar name of King Takellothis, the sixth of the XXII. Dyn., as we have seen.

Synonyms

• (obscene): inappropriate, obscene, debased, uncouth, offensive, ignoble, mean, profane
• (ordinary): common, ordinary, popular

Derived terms

• (obscene): vulgarity, vulgarian
• (ordinary): vulgar fraction, vulgate, Vulgate
• vulgar fraction
• Vulgar Latin

Translations

distasteful, uncouth, obscene

• Afrikaans: onbeskaaf, ongepoets, platvloers, vulgêr
• Armenian: կոպիտ (hy) (kopit)
• Catalan: vulgar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鄙俗 (zh) (bǐsú), 粗俗 (zh) (cūsú)

• Czech: vulgární (cs), sprostý (cs) m, hrubý (cs) m
• Danish: vulgær (da), (dated) obskøn, uanstændig
• Dutch: vulgair (nl), obsceen (nl), smakeloos (nl), ruw (nl), ordinair (nl)
• Esperanto: triviala
• Finnish: rivo (fi), vulgaari (fi), alatyylinen (fi) (linguistics), sivistymätön (fi)
• French: vulgaire (fr) m or f, obscène (fr) m or f
• Georgian: უხეში (uxeši), ვულგარული (vulgaruli), უკმეხი (uḳmexi), მდარე (mdare)
• German: vulgär (de), unfein, ungebildet (de), unanständig (de), ungehobelt (de), vulgärsprachlich (de)
• Greek: χυδαίος (el) m (chydaíos), πρόστυχος (el) m (próstychos), αγοραίος (el) m (agoraíos)

  Ancient: βάναυσος (bánausos), φορτικός (phortikós)

• Hungarian: közönséges (hu), otromba (hu), durva (hu), trágár (hu), vulgáris (hu)
• Indonesian: vulgar (id), cabul (id), kotor (id), jorok (id), tak senonoh

• Italian: osceno (it), triviale (it), volgare (it), indecente (it)
• Japanese: 卑しい (iyashii), 汚い (ja) (kitanai)
• Lakota: šikšíl
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: vulgær (no)

  Nynorsk: vulgær

• Persian: رکیک‎ (fa) (rakik), مبتذل‎ (fa) (mobtazal)
• Polish: obsceniczny (pl) m
• Portuguese: vulgar (pt) m or f, obsceno (pt) m, indecente (pt) m or f
• Romanian: obscen (ro) m or n, vulgar (ro) m or n
• Russian: вульга́рный (ru) (vulʹgárnyj), непристо́йный (ru) (nepristójnyj), неприли́чный (ru) (neprilíčnyj), по́шлый (ru) (póšlyj)
• Slovene: vulgaren (sl)
• Spanish: vulgar (es), chabacano (es), ramplón (es)
• Swedish: vulgär (sv)
• Turkish: kaba (tr)

having to do with common people

• Afrikaans: volks, gewoon (af), algemeen (af)
• Catalan: vulgar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 平民的 (zh) (píngmín de), 庶民的 (zh) (shùmín de), 百姓的 (zh) (bǎixìng de)

• Czech: prostý (cs) m, lidový (cs) m
• Danish: vulgær (da), simpel, ordinær, (dated) gemen
• Dutch: volks (nl), gewoon (nl), gemeen (nl), ordinair (nl)
• Esperanto: vulgara
• Finnish: kansanomainen (fi), rahvaanomainen (fi)
• Galician: vulgar

• Georgian: საყოველთა (saq̇ovelta), გლეხური (glexuri)
• German: allgemein (de), ordinär (de), vulgär (de), vulgärsprachlich (de), Volks-, volkstümlich (de), gemein (de), gewöhnlich (de)
• Greek: κοινός (el) m (koinós)
• Japanese: 平民の (ja) (heimin no), 庶民的な (shominteki na)
• Portuguese: vulgar (pt) m or f, popular (pt) m or f, comum (pt) m or f
• Romanian: grosolan (ro) m or n, comun (ro) m or n, ordinar (ro) m or n, ordinară f
• Russian: простонаро́дный (ru) (prostonaródnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: gràisgeil
• Slovene: ljudski
• Spanish: vulgar (es)
• Swedish: vulgär (sv), pöbel-, pöbelaktig, gemen (sv)

Noun

vulgar (plural vulgars)

1. (classicism) A common, ordinary person.
   • 2016, Evan Gottlieb, Juliet Shields, Representing Place in British Literature and Culture, 1660-1830

     Popular antiquarian writings […] frequently focused on the regional vulgars' superstitious beliefs regarding the dead and their ongoing presence—such as popular funeral rites or the vulgars' fear of church yards.

2. (collective) The common people.
3. The vernacular tongue or common language of a country.
   • 1623, William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies; Published according to the True Originall Copies, London, act 5, scene 1, page 204, Internet Shakespeare Editions:

     Therefore you Clowne, abandon: which is in the vulgar, leaue the societie: which in the boorish, is companie, of this female: which in the common, is woman: which together, is, abandon the society of this Female,  […]

     (Or in a modern form: Therefore, you clown, abandon—which is in the vulgar, “leave”—the society—which in the boorish is “company”—of this female—which in the common is “woman”—which together is: abandon the society of this female, […])

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Catalan

Adjective

vulgar (masculine and feminine plural vulgars)

1. vulgar

Derived terms

• vulgarment

Related terms

• vulgaritat

Further reading

• “vulgar” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

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Galician

Etymology

From Latin vulgāris.

Adjective

vulgar m or f (plural vulgares)

1. common to the people, vulgar
2. ordinary, undistinguished
3. popular, commonly understood, as opposed to scientific or technical
4. simple, unintelligent

Synonyms

• (ordinary): prosaico
• (popular): común, popular

Antonyms

• (popular): científico, técnico

Related terms

• vulgaridade
• vulgarismo
• vulgo

Further reading

• “vulgar” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

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Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin vulgāris.

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /vuɫ.ˈɣaɾ/
• Hyphenation: vul‧gar

Adjective

vulgar (plural vulgares, comparable)

1. common to the people, vulgar
2. ordinary, undistinguished
3. popular, commonly understood, as opposed to scientific or technical
4. simple, unintelligent

Synonyms

• (ordinary): prosaico
• (popular): comum, popular

Antonyms

• (popular): científico, técnico

Related terms

• vulgaridade
• vulgarismo
• vulgo

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Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French vulgaire, Latin vulgaris.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vulˈɡar/

Adjective

vulgar m or n (feminine singular vulgară, masculine plural vulgari, feminine and neuter plural vulgare)

1. vulgar

Declension

declension of vulgar

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	vulgar		vulgară	vulgari	vulgare
	definite	vulgarul		vulgara	vulgarii	vulgarele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	vulgar		vulgare	vulgari	vulgare
	definite	vulgarului		vulgarei	vulgarilor	vulgarelor

Synonyms

• grosolan
• ordinar
• comun

Related terms

• vulg

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin vulgāris.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bulˈɡaɾ/

Adjective

vulgar (plural vulgares)

1. vulgar

Inflection

• Superlative: vulgarísimo, más vulgar

Related terms

• vulgo
• vulgaridad

Further reading

• “vulgar” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.