The etymology and cultural taboo of the F-word in American English

¶ … F' WORD

The objective of this work is to examine the origin of the 'F' word and how the word came to be and how it is used today in American culture.

There are various legends and claims regarding the origin of the 'F' word. While some claim that the word was derived from the language of the Vikings, others claim the word derived from a French phrase of 'pluck yew'. This work explores that various sources that make claim to possess knowledge of the origin of the 'F' word.

URBAN LEGENDS and MYTHS of the 'F' WORD

The work of Wilton entitled: "Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends" states the fact that: 'Popular etymologies agree, unfortunately incorrectly, that '*****' is an acronym meaning either 'Fornication under the Consent of the King or for Unlawful Carnal Knowledge'. Tracing the etymology of ***** is difficult, as it has been under a taboo for most of its existence and early citations of the word are rare." (Wilton, 2004) the earlier citation of the 'f' word is stated to be from "ca. 1475 in a poem written in a mix of Latin and English and entitled: "Flen flyys" which states:

Non-sun in celi- quia fuccant uuiuys of heli." (Wilton, 2004) Translated this poem state: "They (the monks) are not in heaven / because they ***** the wives of Ely (a town near Cambridge)." Fuccant is stated to be a pseudo-Latin word in the original manuscript it is written in cipher to further disguise it." (Wilton, 2004)

Wilson relates that the word is alleged to have appeared in 1278 as a personal name, specifically "John le *****er." (Wilton, 2004) Wilton relates that the root of the 'F' worked is:

undoubtedly Germanic, as it has cognates in other Northern European languages, Middle Dutch fokken, meaning to thrust, to copulate with; dialectal Norwegian fukka meaning to compulate; and dialectical Swedish focka meaning to strike, push, copulate and fock meaning penis. Both French and Italian have similar words, foutre, and fottere, respectively. These deriver from the Latin future." (Wilton, 2004)

Use of the 'F' word is known in the work of poets and writers although its use by these is only on a rare occasion. The taboo associated with the use of the word "was so strong that for 170 years, from 1795 to 1965..." The 'F' word did not appear "in a single dictionary of the English language." (Wilton, 2004) Furthermore, Norman Mailer in the work "The Naked and the Dead" was persuaded by the publishers of this work "to use the euphemism 'fug' instead..." (Wilton, 2004)

III. RANDOM HOUSE HISTORICAL DICTIONARY of AMERICAN SLANG

It is stated by the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang that the word derived from: 'Middle Dutch 'fokken - 'to thrust, compulate with'; and in the Norwegian dialect 'fukka' means 'to compulate and the Swedish dialect 'focka' means "to strike, push copulate' and 'fock' means 'penis. (Random House, nd)

IV. INDO-EUROPEAN ROOT 'PEUK'

It is related by Eric Partridge in the 7th edition of Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (Macmillan, 1970 that ***** almost certainly comes from the Indo-European root 'peuk' meaning 'to prick' which is the source of the English words compunction, expunge, impugn, poignant, point, pounce, pugilist, punctuate, puncture, pungent and pygmy. "

V. NORTH-SEA GERMANIC AREAL FORM

In the work entitled: "The Roots of English: A Reader's Handbook of Word Origin" (Times, 1989) it is agreed that this is likely the origin. It is related that theoretical problems arise from a distribution indicating that North-Sea Germanic areal form instead of one inherited as well as the little grasped phonetic relation; and finally the fact that no linked derivation outside of Germanic has connotations, which are sexual in nature.

VI. In DEPTH-ANALYSIS

The work of Ruth Wajnryb entitled: "Expletive Deleted: A Good Look at Bad Language" notes that Henry VIII is known to have stated: "Heads are going to *****ing roll." (2005) Wajnryb relates a "...word-by-word, in-depth analysis..." beginning with the four-letter word '*****'. This term has had an interesting history, much of it which, including its etymology remains suffused in folk supposition." (2005) Wajnryb notes the interesting fact that while the 'F' word has been banned in many dictionaries that this is more than minimally curious in light of the fact that '*****' and '*****' are tagged as among the three thousand most frequently used words in English." (Wajnryb, 2005)

Wajnryb holds the progression of the meaning assigned the word 'bastard' stating that over a period of;

mere thirteen years, may serve to illustrate the shift from written-historical to spoken-contemporary. In 1982 the 'Concise Oxford Dictionary provided the primary meaning of 'bastards' as 'one born out of wedlock.' In 1995, the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English gave four meanings. The first, tagged 'slang' was an offensive words for someone, especially a man, who you think is unpleasant.' The second tagged 'spoke' was 'an insulting or joking word for a man.' The third, tagged 'British' was something that causes difficulties or problems' and the fourth, tagged 'old-fashioned' was someone whose parents were not married when they were born." (Wajnryb, 2005; p.62)

Wajnryb notes that the 'Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue', written in 1785 by Francis Grose, who included the 'F' word however in the form of: "F**k'.." (2005) Additionally it is related that in 1775 the work of John Ash entitled: "A New and Complete Dictionary" defined the 'F' word as 'low' and 'vulgar'. (Wajnryb, 2005; p. 60) Wajnryb relates the interesting fact that in the medieval period that women who were discovered in the act of illicit sex were branded as 'for unlawful and carnal knowledge' and forced to wear the scarlet letter "while the town crier sounded a giant bell and slowly enunciated 'f-u-c-k-' which everyone standing around understood as 'found under carnal knowledge'. (2005; paraphrased) the work of Brendan O'Donnell (2001) entitled: "The Anatomy of a Four Letter Word" relates that when the 'F' word was originally used on college campuses in the 1950s and 1960s "...it really mean something. Unlike the nebulous adjective/verb/noun status the word holds today, when somebody said 'buck' they had an attitude. They had something to say and they were radical. '***** it' was the battle cry of the acid anarchists and radical feminists alike...was the precursor to multiculturalism." (O'Donnell, 2001)

The Psychoanalytic Quarterly report entitled: "Meeting of the New York Psychoanalytic Society" written by Herbert F. Waldhorn relates a meeting in 1951, which focused on the 'F' word stating that this "...word has persisted longer in the English language than all similar terms in both usage and taboo, and that its derivation is obscure." (Waldhorn, 1951)

SUMMARY & CONCLUSION

This study is unable to ascertain the precisely origin of the 'F' word although it seems likely that the work of Wilton (2004) which relates that the 'F' word is an acronym meaning: (1) 'Fornication under the Consent of the King; or (2) for Unlawful Carnal Knowledge'. The information reviewed during the course of this study has clearly illustrated that the precise meaning of the 'F' word is subject to great fluctuation and shift in applied meaning over a period of time and that meanings may experience the affect of cultural shifts in terms of the applied meaning of words such as the 'F' word. The literature reviewed in this study clearly demonstrated that the basic roots of the 'F' word can be found across a range of linguistic derivations being accredited by some to the Germanic Areal linguistics by other to the Viking heritage or Indo-European roots. While this word is one of the three hundred most often used words in the English language, it wasn't until recent decades that this word has been published in reference books and dictionaries in the actual spelled out form of the 'F' word attributed to the lack of ease of modern cultural society in addressing the use of these words and even resulting in a difficulty in the discussion of the origins of such words as the 'F' word.