Obscenity

Obscenity has several connotations. Obscenity and its parent adjective obscene take their derivation from the Greek terms ob skene, which literally means "offstage". This is because violent acts in Greek theatre were committed off stage. It then descends into the Latin word obscenus, meaning "foul, repulsive, detestable", (possibly derived from ob caenum), literally "from filth". The term is most often used in a legal context to describe expression (words, images, actions) that offend the prevalent sexual morality of the time.

Research Resources

• First Amendment Library entry on Supreme Court Obscenity Cases