A minced oath is a euphemistic expression formed by misspelling, mispronouncing, or replacing a part of a profane, blasphemous, or taboo term to reduce the original term's objectionable characteristics. Some examples include "gosh" for God, "darn" for damn, and "heck" for Hell.
Many languages have such expressions. In the English language, nearly all profanities have minced variants.
Read more about Minced Oath: Formation, History, Acceptability, Literature and Censorship, Examples
Famous quotes containing the word oath:
“Whoever has had the experience of the moral sentiment cannot choose but believe in unlimited power. Each pulse from that heart is an oath from the Most High. I know not what the word sublime means, if it be not the intimations, in this infant, of a terrific force.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)