Editor’s note: Still might need work
About
Lewd is an adjective often used to describe something of erotic nature, or otherwise obscene or indecent.
Origin
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the first known usage of the word can be dated back to 14th century England[1]. The word lewed, meaning “vulgar”, originated from an Old English word lǣwede, meaning “laical” or “ignorant”.
Spread
As of 2008, the word had already been used in various anime and manga discussions on 4chan’s /a/ (Anime and Manga) and /jp/ (Otaku Culture) boards[2]. On /jp/, the word would often be associated with pictures of Eiki Shiki from Touhou Project, where she’s shown to criticize certain things for being “too lewd”. This is most likely based of a comic (pictured below, left) where she’s describing Komachi Onozuka’s breasts this way. It has spawned several reaction images, one of the oldest archived ones (picture below, right) being from November 19th, 2008[3].
In more recent years, the term has spawned many other reaction images, featuring characters from various anime series blushing, being shy, or otherwise spazzing out.
Notable Examples
External References
[2]archive.moe – Oldest examples of ‘lewd’
[3]archive.moe – One of the older pictures of ‘Too Lewd’