There are numerous factors that have contributed to ugliness
being ignored, but perhaps most importantly this can be attributed to
there being something implicitly ambiguous about the concept of
ugliness. To some extent this can be attributed to its convoluted
meanings: ugliness can be defined as an external or internal property.
The ability to define the concept through intangible and tangible qualities
impedes a precise and concise understanding of it. The etymology of the
word ugly reinforces this inherent ambiguity. Ugly comes from Old Norse
uggligr meaning to fear.' It is also defined as being "frightful, offensive to
any sense, and morally reprehensible" (2003). The German word hdfilich
also contains the same lack of a concrete definition: "unschon, entstellt,
mifigestaltet, garstig, armselig" (Wahrig 1981). The Deutsches Worterbuch
defines hafilich in terms of inducing hostility (feindselig) and being
unlovable. The etymology of hafilich is derived from the verb 'to hate,'
hassen, implying that something (or someone) ugly also contains
something inherently dislikeable. Hqfilich contains more diverse
corporeal and incorporeal meanings than the English ugly. The definition
references nastiness and squalidness, not to mention malformation and
distortion. The etymology only further obfuscates possible
understandings of ugliness.
A concrete definition of ugliness remained elusive, a problem that
literature remedies by differentiating between types of ugliness. Initially,
ugliness functioned as a binary opposition to beauty, and was often
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