“无礼、冒犯、辱骂的言辞”，14世纪晚期，源自古法语 contumelie，而其词源则是拉丁语 contumelia，意为“侮辱、谴责”。这个词可能源自 contumax，意指“傲慢、顽固、无礼、不屈服”，通常用来形容那些拒绝在法庭上回应合法传唤的人。它由 com-（在这里可能是一个强调前缀，参见 com-）和 tumere（意为“肿胀、膨胀”，源自原始印欧语词根 *teue-，意指“膨胀”）结合而成。
The unhappy man left his country forever. The howl of contumely followed him across the sea, up the Rhine, over the Alps; it gradually waxed fainter; it died away; those who had raised it began to ask each other, what, after all, was the matter about which they had been so clamorous, and wished to invite back the criminal whom they had just chased from them. [Thomas Babington Macaulay, "Lord Byron," 1877]
不幸的人永远离开了他的祖国。无礼的嘲讽声伴随着他越过海洋，沿着莱茵河，穿过阿尔卑斯山；起初声势浩大，后来逐渐减弱，最终消失不见。那些曾经高声叫嚷的人开始互相询问，究竟是什么让他们如此喧闹，甚至希望能把刚刚驱逐的罪犯请回来。[托马斯·巴比奇·麦考利，《拜伦勋爵》，1877年]
