A narrow category of unprotected speech consisting of personally abusive epithets that are inherently likely to provoke immediate violent reaction from the average person. The doctrine has been significantly narrowed since its creation and rarely applies in modern cases.
From Old English 'feohtan' (to combat) and 'word' (speech, statement). The legal concept originated in Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942), where the Supreme Court identified certain face-to-face personal insults as falling outside First Amendment protection due to their tendency to provoke immediate retaliation.
The fighting words doctrine has become nearly extinct because courts realized that in a diverse society, what's fighting words to one person might be mild criticism to another! Originally created to punish a Jehovah's Witness who called a marshal a 'fascist,' the doctrine has been so narrowed by subsequent decisions that it's almost impossible to apply, reflecting our evolution toward more speech-protective interpretations of the First Amendment.
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