Everything about Damnation totally explained
:
Dammit redirects here, to see the blink-182 song see Dammit (song). For other meanings, see Damn (disambiguation).
"
Damnation" (or, more commonly, "
damn", or "
goddamn") is widely used as a moderate
profanity, which originated as such from the concept of punishment by God . Until around the mid-20th century,
damn was a more offensive term than it's today, and was frequently represented as "
D--n," "
D---," or abbreviated to just "
D."
Religious
In some forms of
Western Christian belief, damnation to
hell is the punishment of
God for persons with
unredeemed sin.
One conception is of eternal suffering and denial of entrance to
heaven, often described in the
Bible as burning in
fire. Another conception, derived from the scripture about
Gehenna is simply that people will be discarded (burned), as being unworthy of preservation by their Gods.
In Eastern Christian traditions (
Eastern Orthodoxy and
Oriental Orthodoxy), as well as some Western traditions, it's seen as a state of separation from God, a state into which all humans are born but against which
Christ is the
Mediator and "Great Physician".
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sees damnation as a halt in progress rather than an eternal suffering. It is likened to a
dam in a river that prevents the river from flowing as it normally would.
Non-religious formal uses
Sometimes the word
damned refers to condemnation by humans, for example:
Colloquialisms
"Damn" is a mildly profane word used in
North America while debatably cursing or swearing since some think it's a swear and some don't. The use of "damn" in
Rhett Butler's parting line to
Scarlett O'Hara in the film
Gone with the Wind in
1939 captivated moviegoers with "
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."
"God damn" is usually seen as more profane than simply "damn", and in present-day
radio or
television broadcasts, the word "God" is usually censored or blurred, leaving "damn" uncensored.
In the USA, "damn" is also commonly used as an exclamation when an extremely attractive person or object of approval is located; for example "Damn, he/she is fine" or perhaps "Damn, he's a nice car!". "Hot damn" may be used similarly, but it's somewhat distinct; for example, if one says, "Joe just won the lottery," a response of "Damn!" on its own can indicate disapproval, but "Hot damn!" indicates approval or surprise.
"Damned" is also used as an adjective synonymous with "annoying" or "uncooperative," or as a means of giving emphasis. For example, "The damned furnace isn't working again!" or, "I did wash the damned car!" or, "The damned dog won't stop barking!"
Etymology
Its
Proto-Indo-European language origin is usually said to be a
root dap-, which appears in
Latin and
Greek words meaning "feast" and "expense". (The connection is that feasts tend to be expensive.) In Latin this root provided a theorized early Latin noun *
dapnom, which became Classical Latin
damnum = "damage" or "expense". But there's a
Vedic Sanskrit root dabh or
dambh = "harm".
The word
damnum didn't have exclusively religious overtones. From it in English came "condemn"; "damnified" (an obsolete adjective meaning "damaged"); "damage" (via French from Latin
damnaticum). It began to be used for being found guilty in a court of law; but, for example, an early French treaty called the
Strasbourg Oaths includes the Latin phrase
in damno sit = "would cause harm". From the judicial meaning came the
religious meaning.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Damnation'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://damnation.totallyexplained.com">Damnation Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
