Origins of the word fuck

I just thought this was funny:

In ancient England, you could not have sex, unless given consent by the King. He gives you a placard, that you hang on your door. The card says, "Fornication Under Consent of the King," or, fuck.

Wrong... that is actually a spin off joke of its original intent.

When they arrested a woman for prostitution, in England they would write down in the paper work: "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge." This later became F.U.C.K.... Fuck. Not so funny if you think about it.

Shit used to be a medical term.

I like both your stories better than mine which I pulled from that legendary book of dirty words and ribald meanings, Webster's Dictionary.

FUCK, v, 1495-1505, Middle Dutch "fokken" (to thrust, copulate with) and in the Swedish dialect "focka" (to copulate with, strike) also "fock" (penis)

However, I've got a nice "POSH" I'll give away free if anyone's interested in it's derivation.

RF

Old Germanic word that was agricultural in use.
Related to the "planting of fields", fuch

RhumbRunner

I agree with BB

It was a police term!

In the time of Jack the Ripper.

BB is very knowledgable and he has a sharp beak!

Grins wickedly as she flys away

Ducks from the beak!

Posh

Rumple Foreskin said:

However, I've got a nice "POSH" I'll give away free if anyone's interested in it's derivation.RF

Click to expand...

When all the transatlantic boats docked at Southampton, dahrling, t'was better to be Port Out, Starboard Home.

Not as entertaining as the joke answers:

as a verb:

[Early mod.E fuck, fuk, answering to a ME. type *fuken (wk. vb.) not found; ulterior etymology unknown. Synonymous G. ficken cannot be shown to be related.]
For centuries, and still by the great majority, regarded as a taboo-word; until recent times not often recorded in print but frequent in coarse speech.

1. intr. To copulate. trans. to copulate with; to have sexual connection with.

Also used as a noun, one of the oldest written instances being an anonymous 1680 collection known as Rochester's Poems on Several Occasions "Thus was I Rook'd of Twelve substantial Fucks."


BTW, "posh" is actually derivative from pash. Posh dialectically meaning, "The fragments produced by a smash; a soft, decayed, rotten, or pulpy mass; a state of slush" is also used in phrases such as "In full posh-ice" meaning: Ice broken into small fragments; brash-ice, porridge-ice.

A pash is a crashing blow or fall; a crash or the fragments produced by a smash’ (E.D.D.), debris; hence, a collection, a medley, a great quantity or number. Consequently it is also used to mean a heavy fall or "dash" of rain or snow.

I love my OED.

that's a lot of bosh

So then how did "posh" acquire the connotation of fashionable or elegant?

One can surmise that posh-ice is the bridge, linguistically. Much nicer than the coarse ice used by peasants, the royals served posh-ice, don't you know?

The "F word" first appeared in print in "Ane Brash of Wowing" ("A Bout of Wooking") by the scottish poet and one time Franciscan monk, William Dunbar. No attempt was made to supress this shocking stanza when it was published in 1503:

He clappit fast, he kist, and chukkit
As with the glaikis he were ouirgane;
Yit be his feiris he would have fukkit;
Ye brek my hart, my bonny one!

The term also appeared liberally in the verses of the earl of Rochester and other poems of the period up until 1600 when publishers banned it from the printed page. "Fuck" even disappeared from dictionaries, including ledicons of slang, for nearly three centuries, and to this day none of the major dictionaries (Websters, Oxford, Random House) have dared to define it for fear of incurring a buyer's boycott.

One must disagree, Fire, my citations were right out of the OED. Webster or Random House may succumb to such pressure, but Oxford is about the language not the moral sensibilities of the few.

Port Outward Starboard Home was for the poshies who could afford these first class cabins in the voyages which crossed the equator and therefore, going south you had the morning sun in your cabin and the afternoon shade, and vice versa on the way back. The other way round you sweltered to death - no air conditioning.

The usage of the word fuck
Prehaps one of the most interesting words
In the English language today is the word fuck
Out of all the English words that begin with the letter "f" Fuck is the only word that is referred to as the "f"word

It's the one magical word Just by it's sound can describe pain, pleasure, hate and love Fuck, as most words in the English language, is derived for German the word "fleckin" which means to strike

In English fuck falls into many grammatical categories

As a transitive verb for instance
"John fucked Shirley."

As an intransitive verb
"Shirley fucks."

It's meanings not always sexual It can be used as an adjective as in
"John's doing all the fucking work."

As an adverb
"Shirley talks too fucking much."

As an adverb enhancing an adjective
"Shirley is fucking beautiful!"

As a noun
"I don't give a fuck!"
As a part of a word

"Absofuckinglutly!"
or
"Infuckincredible!"

And as almost every word in the sentence
"Fuck the fucking fuckers."

But you must realize that aren't too many words With the versatility of fuck As in these examples describing situations such as

Aggression - Fuck you!
Agreement - Fucking-ay right!
Amazement - Fucking shit!
Annoyance - Don't fuck with me.
Apathy - Who really gives a fuck, anyhow?
Benevolence - Don't do me any fucking favors.
Command - Go fuck yourself!
Confusion - What the fuck?
Denial - I didn't fucking do it.
Despair - Fucked again.
Difficulty - I don't understand this fucking question.
Directions - Fuck off.
Disbelief - Unfuckingbelievable!
Dismay - Oh, fuck it!
Displeasure - What the fuck is going on here?
Encouragement - Keep on fucking.
Etiquette - Pass the fucking salt!
Fraud - I got fucked.
Greetings - How the fuck are ya?
Hatred of chemistry - Thermofuckingdynamics.
Identification - Who the fuck are you?
Ignorance - He's such a fuck head.
Incompetence - He's a fuck up.
Insight - You're out of your fucking mind!
Laziness - He's a fuck off.
Lost - Where the fuck are we?
Panic - Let's get the fuck out of here.
Passive - Fuck me!
Perplexity - I fucking know all about it.
Philosophical - Who gives a fuck?
Pleasure - I couldn't be any fucking happier!
Question - You ain't fucking me?
Rebellion - Fuck the world!
Resignation - Oh, fuck it!
Retaliation - Up your fucking ass!
Suspicion - Who the fuck are you?
Trouble - I guess I'm really fucked now.
Ugliness - You're a dumb looking fuck.
Wisdom - Fuck that shit!
Wonder - How the fuck did you do that?

It can be used in an anatomical description - "He's a fucking asshole."
It can be used in business - "How did I wind up with this fucking job?"
It can be maternal - "Motherfucker."
It can be political - "Fuck Dan Quayle!"

It has also been used by many notable people throughout history:

"What the fuck was that?" - Mayor of Hiroshima
"Where did all these fucking Indians come from?" - General Custer
"Where the fuck is all this water coming from?" - Captain of the Titanic
"Thats not a real fucking gun." - John Lennon
"Who's gonna fucking find out?" - Richard Nixon
"Heads are going to fucking roll." - Anne Boleyn
"Let the fucking woman drive." - Commander of the "Challenger"
"What fucking map?" - Mark Thatcher
"Any fucking idiot could understand that." - Albert Einstein
"It does so fucking look like her!" - Picasso
"How the fuck did you work that out?" - Pythagoras
"You want what on the fucking ceiling?" - Michaelangelo
"Fuck a duck." - Walt Disney
"Why?- Because its fucking there!" - Edmund Hilary
"I don't suppose its gonna fucking rain?" - Joan of Arc
"Scattered fucking showers my ass." - Noah
"I need this parade like I need a fucking hole in my head." - John F. Kennedy

I'm sure you can think of many more examples With all of these multipurpose applicationsHow can anyone be offended when you use the word? We say use this unique, flexable word more often in your daily speech It will identify the quality of your character immediately Say it loudly and proudly!

FUCK YOU!