Why exactly are swear words "swear words?"

[Promethieus]

I believe swear words are only swear words because people call them swear words. If they weren't called swear words then they would just be words. Same thing generally applies to "bad words" or "cuss words."

[yetgdhfgh]

I dont believe any word is a swear word cause words change so much over time

Look at the word Gay I mean that word used to mean Happy then it meant homosexual and now its used if something is lame.

[Deleted]

I believe swear words are only swear words because people call them swear words. If they weren't called swear words then they would just be words. Same thing generally applies to "bad words" or "cuss words."

Or it could be their meaning. They are bad/cuss/swear words because calling someone a "whore whose only redeeming quality is her blowjob proficiency" is rude and obscene. Much in the same way that i don't support nudity in the streets i don't support "bad" words in kindergartens, scientific papers, etc. as they serve no purpose there.

While i agree that some people take them out of proportion(thinking of parents envisioning armageddon when their child says "shit") their categorization comes from the meaning associated with them, either through their definition or how they are used.

[Najnaj]

For the same reason a banana is called a banana, because most people say it is.

[Shinra1]

I dont believe any word is a swear word cause words change so much over time

Look at the word Gay I mean that word used to mean Happy then it meant homosexual and now its used if something is lame.

Only if you're a 12/13 year old school boy

[Spiffums]

Patrick Swayze explained this in RoadHouse.

[yetgdhfgh]

Only if you're a 12/13 year old school boy

Still the word has changed and those 12/13 year old boys will use it to mean that when they grow up and thus that word will change.