system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Where do curse words come from and why are they bad?
gpt
Curse words come from the same place most words come from - older words.

I assume that what you're asking is how does a word become a curse, right? The process is called "pejoration" by linguists, and it basically happens through a bunch of subtle changes in the commonly understood meaning of the word over a long period of time.

Pejoration doesn't just apply to swear words, though, it applies to any word that gets smaller or worse in its meaning. For example, *cretin*, *idiot*, *imbecile*, and *moron* were all originally descriptive words for people with mental disabilities.