Is the word ******** offensive?

[Kyriakos]

It seems that in English the term for this is quite different etymologically than the analogous one in Greek, the latter being "kathysteremenos" which literally means "delayed". Whereas "********" seems to imply being slow, delayed does not do that, and hence appears to be a softer term. That said kathysteremenos is considered a curse in Greek anyway, due to the stigma, although the same word is used independently to mean someone who is late for something.

Interesting that in the one language you have a reason for being late (being slow) while on the other just the fact of being late

 

[NovaKart]

Like the word in French.

Kathysteremenos is a pretty long word for a curse

 

[Kyriakos]

Yeah, and there is also the Encephalica necros (dead in the inside of the head)

 

[Silurian]

It seems that in English the term for this is quite different etymologically than the analogous one in Greek, the latter being "kathysteremenos" which literally means "delayed". Whereas "********" seems to imply being slow, delayed does not do that, and hence appears to be a softer term. That said kathysteremenos is considered a curse in Greek anyway, due to the stigma, although the same word is used independently to mean someone who is late for something.

Interesting that in the one language you have a reason for being late (being slow) while on the other just the fact of being late

I the UK people can be called "slow" as well. It is not regarded as being as offensive as ********. ******** is not regarded as very offensive.

 

[Synobun]

People get too offended these days. That is all I have to say about this.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Well no. The thing is the term "political correctness" literally doesn't mean anything and the idea of there being a "political correctness police" is a nonsense. It exists almost entirely in bad stand-up and lazy comedy. The term is almost invariably used these days by jerks defending their being jerks by acting like they're some sort of lone ranger freedom fighter against imaginary bogeymen.

I disagree. There is definitely a social force which encourages people to use less-offensive and less-negative euphemisms.

 

[GoodGame]

As a verb (is it used that way?) it wouldn't be.

As a descriptor it is kind of un-PC, but it still gets used and was appropriate in the past (mental retardation); that is, what Cheezy just posted. It is probably more than semi-offensive depending on its use.

 

[mangxema]

Meh. I depends on context. As Arwon alluded to, pretty much every word used to originally describe the mentally handicapped has gone mainstream to indicate the shockingly unwise. It's really hard to get that point across without going there, so I don't care most of the time as long that as the use is warranted. And I say this as someone whose sibling is actually ********.

 

[Maniacal]

Calling someone mentally ******** or calling a mentally challenged person a is offensive (just like I except calling them special needs, mentally challenged, etc will soon be offensive too), however using the word ******** as an adjective isn't a real problem like some people pretend it is.

 

[NovaKart]

This reminds me when I was looking at some old photographs in a book of my home town and the caption of one photo had a picture of a building that was referred to as the lunatic asylum.

 

[Leonel]

I don't believe I've ever heard any genuinely ******** people take offense.

 

[Antilogic]

I have never heard the word '********' used to describe a person who actually suffers from a mental illness.

It's confusing because the word is used in science to mean growth is slowed, and I have had people yell at me about it. Same with male-end and female-end plugs, which have also provoked awkward conversations with feminist types.

 

[_random_]

You don't call ******** people <snip>. It's bad taste. You call your friends <snip> when they're acting ********.

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[NovaKart]

What are male and female end plugs?

 

[Terxpahseyton]

I disagree. There is definitely a social force which encourages people to use less-offensive and less-negative euphemisms.

Political correctness is a fuzzy term. Too fuzzy that one could deny its existence.
My personal favorite is "gendering". In contrast to English, in German every substantive as a gender. And nowadays, political correctness demands that we "gender" those substantives when they refer to a group of people rather than just using the default male gender many such words have.
For example people used to say "Bürger Deutschlands" meaning "Citizens of Germany". Nowadays you have to say "Bürger und Bürgerinnen Deutschlands", meaning "Citizens and female Citizens of Germany". It is god--awful--incredible-superfluous and the embodiment of the wrongs political correctness can be: Well-intentioned, but incredible annoying and probably even harmful.

Regarding the topic itself: I often prefer trust in sanity and kindness over the fear of malicious intend when it comes to how to deal with people. That includes for me giving them the freedom to use words which can be misunderstood as especially offensive - or not.

 

[Antilogic]

What are male and female end plugs?

Take a look at any corded electrical device. The male end is the plug, the female end is the outlet on the wall.

 

[Skwink]

is just a word for stupid where I'm from.

 

[Communisto]

my views are pretty much expressed <snip>

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No one uses the word "********" against mentally handicapped (or whatever we're calling it now) people. well, obviously statistically some people must, but if they do, its insignificant a number compared to those who use it in the more common non-******** way. This is a non issue.

 

[REDY]

I thinkt its more offensive than calling someone stupid.

 

[ZeletDude]

I use it but not to call someone stupid (most of the time), I usually say "Oh that's ********" instead of "Oh that's stupid".. My school had a campaign to "Ban the R Word" and well it didn't work very well..