I'm Elise Hugh. This is TED Talks Daily. Today's talk contains explicit adult language and may not be suitable for all listeners. In fact, the whole talk is about the history of a word that can immediately offend or make us cringe. How did things get this way? What's the story behind a four-letter word I'm purposely not saying in this intro?

Kate Lister's 2020 talk from TEDx University of Glasgow is a fascinating history.

First, a warning.

As far as offensive words go, you are now entering a hard hat area.

We're going to be unabashed in this. I am talking to you about a very particular word,

a very powerful word, a very see-you next Tuesday word. I love this word. Oh, my God, I love everything about this word. Not just what it signifies,

but the actual, the actual sound of it, the fact that the C and the T just cushion the

sound into this monosyllabic that you can just spit like a bullet or you can extend it out and roll it

round your mouth can't i love its dexterity i love the fact that in scotland it's a term of

endearment but in america it's horrendously offensive I love it means something different with your friends

than it does if you said it to your boss. It would probably cost you your job. I do not recommend it.

I love this word. I love the fact that the first three letters are still the same chalice shape,

all rolling through the word until they're stopped in that

plosive tea at the end. I think the thing that I love most about it is it state us as the nastiest of all

the nasty words. Although that title is under some contention now, there are other obvious heavyweight

contenders for the most offensive word, the N word,

for example. But here's what I would say to you, I know why that word is offensive. I can look at

the history. That word enabled the brutalization and racial genocide of an entire group of people.

It played its part in dehumanizing black people.

What did cunt do? Does it not strike anyone else as odd that a word that just means the vulva

could even be regarded in the same league of offence as the N-word. Are we saying that vulvas are

that offensive? Surely not. But what I want to talk to you today about is how did we get here?

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