in Education, Professor's Classroom 430 Words

History Of The “F” Word

It is a Sunday and what better day than that to throw some FYI in your direction and a little history all in one post.

Warning– this post uses some harsh words and may offend those readers that have sensitivities to the use of the “F” word.

If you are one of those people then please pass this post by as I would not want to offend.

I was watching the tube the other night and every channel that I turned to someone was using the “F” word….as adjective, expletive, adverb, verb and so on and that got my brain fired up to do what I like best….research.

Just where did the “F” word originate?

Who first used the F-word?

Etymologists have been debating it for years, with every new discovery inspiring a flurry of news coverage. (Note: If you read Vox articles aloud to your children, be warned — this piece has some particularly rude language.) Last year, there was a flurry of attention when we learned that the word made an early appearance in English in 1528, when a disgruntled monk wrote, “O D fuckin abbot.”

Now there’s a new contender for oldest known use: Historian Paul Booth of Keele University claims that a court case in 1310 may have featured the earliest recorded use of the word “fuck,” embedded in the astonishing name of a defendant: Roger Fuckebythenavele. (Yes, that was his name.)

But even that might not be the end of the story. Pinning down a word’s origins turns out to be surprisingly tricky — not least because it’s difficult to know if medieval people were using the word the way we use it today. I spoke to Kate Wiles, a medieval researcher and contributing editor at History Today, who expanded on the history of “fuck” and explained why finding the first instance is trickier than it seems.

Historians have found plenty of examples of the word “fuck” in old medieval manuscripts. Wiles recommends Jesse Sheidlower’s history of the word, The F Word, and she also wrote her own summary in 2014. The kestrel was probably called a “windfucker” in 1599, and before that, all the way back in 1373, we have records of a place named Fockynggroue, which probably referenced “the act.” Other place names, like Ric Wyndfuk and Ric Wyndfuck de Wodehous, date to 1287, though their meaning is uncertain.

https://www.vox.com/2015/9/15/9329813/f-word-origins

I could not go to sleep as long as I had this nagging question in my brain.

Now I know and so do you…..

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

13 thoughts on “History Of The “F” Word”

  1. I love the “F” word because it is great to add emphasis to written articles …when people see the “F” word, it triggers a little series of explosions in their brain that wakes them up from their socially-induced coma.

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  2. I highly recommend a book called The Horologicon by Mark Forsyth. It’s a delightful and deliciously funny book about some of the more unusual words in the English language.

    Snollygoster is an example. A term especially appropriate in today’s world. A snollygoster is an unprincipled, hypocritical person, especially a politician.

    Or feague. That’s the practice of shoving a piece of ginger up the butt of a horse to make the horse look more active and lively. Or, going back even father, shoving a live eel up it’s butt.

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  3. Good to know that the word has a distinguished history. I presume the original English Pilgrims must have taken it to America with them. You’re welcome. 🙂
    Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. It miraculously appeared on the wall of an ancient Right Wing Temple and a right wing radical prophet dressed in drag interpreted the meaning of it to the King at the time, King Penislavas Hammershammer. The meaning of it was originally, “By this sign you shall conquer and rule all the nations where the populations are total fools.”

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  4. Fuck is the first swear word I said at the ripe old age of 7 and earned Tone Soap to clean my filthy mouth. I didn’t learn my lesson, though. Thanks for the post..

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