Who is Jesus H. Christ? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Jesus H. Christ is one of the incorporators of a new railway company in Southern Colorado ; John is herding sheep in Las Animas county ; Peter is in gaol in Pueblo, Matthew was lately hung in New Mexico for murder, and Paul is tending bar in Trinidad. From " Sunbeams," in the New York Sun (November 14, 1887):
What drives the usage of 'God', 'Jesus', and 'Jesus Christ' as ...
(I'm not sure how "Jesus Christ!" (and all the variations) developed into a common exclamation of surprise, so this answer is just for "God!") All of the uses (that I'm familiar with) of "God" as an expletive derive from "God, damn it!" It's straightforward cursing: asking God to punish someone/something. "The Devil take it!"
etymology - Why is B.C. (Before Christ) in English, but A.D. (anno ...
May 7, 2015 · AD is an abbreviation of anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi, Latin for "in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ". The era we now call BC used to be known as "a.C.n.", an abbreviation of "Ante Christum Natum", which is Latin for "before the birth of Christ".
Why is the word "Holy" used before swear words?
Oct 7, 2014 · "Holy Christ" or God is the phrase that was originally offensive many years ago, when said flippantly. So "Holy [anything else]" is the euphemism from the original phrase. Today any of the Holy variants is probably distasteful to most people, but such is the life of a euphemism, inevitably taking on the very taboo that they intended to replace.
history - If the letter J is only 400–500 years old, was there a J ...
Jan 29, 2014 · Thus, the Greek spelling for "Jesus" was Ιησους, pronounced something like "Yeh-SOOS", and the Latin likewise was Iesus. Subsequently, in the Latin alphabet the letter J was developed as a variant of I, and this distinction was later used to distinguish the consonantal "y" sound [j] from the vocalic "i" sound [i].
abbreviations - Why do some words have "X" as a substitute?
Aug 9, 2011 · The "X" replaces "Christ" because the cross is a symbol of Jesus and because X (really Chi) is an initial for "Christ" in Greek (Χριστός). Xfr = Transfer. The "X" replaces the prefix "trans-" as it implies a crossing of something. They are all abbreviations.
Appearances and usage of "believe on" instead of "believe in."
Jul 26, 2017 · To persuade a savage that it is to his advantage to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Missionary & Anthropology, 1945. And these are from the other definition: They do not well beleeve of the primacy of the Bishop of Rome. Christianographie, 1630. Beleeve lesse to your courage then judgement. The history of Polexander in five bookes, 1647
Origin of the phrases “third time’s the charm” and “third time lucky”?
"If you think about it, you'll soon realize that the 'second coming' of Christ, or 'The Rapture' as they call it, is a joke - like many other jokes written into the New Testament. Why is it a joke? Because ( in the story ), Jesus came into the world once, when he was born to Mary. Then, he died, that's the first coming.
Why is the English devil "old"?
Apr 6, 2014 · The Seed (as Saint Paul doth plainly teach) is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, very God and very man : conceived of the holy Ghost : engendered of the womb and substance of Mary, the blessed pure and undefiled maid : and was so born and fostered by her as other babes be, saving that he was most far from all infection of sin. Master.
Non-offensive substitute for a swear word - English Language
The general term for these is euphemism. The use of a word or phrase to replace another with one that is considered less offensive or less vulgar than the word or phrase it replaces. Edit: just found another term: minced oath. I've never actually heard this term used, mind you, but still, it's a closer match than plain "euphemism".