From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :
Vulgarism \Vul"gar*ism\, n. [Cf. F. vulgarisme.] [1913 Webster] 1. Grossness; rudeness; vulgarity. [1913 Webster] 2. A vulgar phrase or expression. [1913 Webster] A fastidious taste will find offense in the occasional vulgarisms, or what we now call "slang," which not a few of our writers seem to have affected. --Coleridge. [1913 Webster]