Help me settle a bet: Origin of the word "Fuck"

[medjay]

I've always understood that the word fuck originated in old english times as an acronym.

Similar to a marriage licence, couples were given a paper that allowed "Fornication Under Conscent of the King".

A friend of mine believes that adulterers were jailed and on the doors of their cells were signs that informed they had been inprisoned "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge"

Is either one of these correct? Does anyone know?

 

[RhumbRunner13]

In 1964.....

..I had a proff who said it was actually on Old German word, fuchen that was used in agrarian contexts. It had to do with tilling the soil and planting seeds.

I don't think anyone knows with certainty.

Rhumb

 

[Weird Harold]

I've always understood that the word fuck originated in old english times as an acronym.

Similar to a marriage licence, couples were given a paper that allowed "Fornication Under Conscent of the King".

A friend of mine believes that adulterers were jailed and on the doors of their cells were signs that informed they had been inprisoned "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge"

Is either one of these correct? Does anyone know?

both are common myths, but I believe the word is derived from Old English/Saxon and is a short form of Fucken meaning intercourse.

There are several other candidates for the source of the word, but any that involve acronyms are probably just myth.

 

[alexandraaah]

Just do a Google search of "origin of the word fuck."

Here's one of the links:


http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_268b.html

 

[CoolidgEffect]

From Webster's Online Collegiate Dictionary:

Main Entry: 1fuck
Pronunciation: 'f&k
Function: verb
Etymology: akin to Dutch fokken to breed (cattle), Swedish dialect fokka to copulate
Date: 1503
intransitive senses
1 usually obscene : COPULATE -- sometimes used in the present participle as a meaningless intensive
2 usually vulgar : MESS 3 -- used with with
transitive senses
1 usually obscene : to engage in coitus with -- sometimes used interjectionally with an object (as a personal or reflexive pronoun) to express anger, contempt, or disgust
2 usually vulgar : to deal with unfairly or harshly : CHEAT, SCREW

 

[DannyBoyUK]

It first appeared in a dictionary, by the way, in 1598 as one of five synonnyms to translate the Itaian word FOTTERE - along with jape, sard, swive and occupy !

Now there's a trivia question to fox everyone at the next party you go to.

The dictionary in question (if you want to sound like a smart ass) was John Florio's Worlde of Words.

 

[YosemiteSam]

orgin of the word

medjay:
I believe your right, a friend of mine did a report on it in H/S, and that was what he came up with. I never checked his research, but he was an extreamly good student, when properly motivated (in this case to piss off a teacher he didn't like) He spent about 20hr's researching it on the web and at the bookshed, in the end I thik he had about 4 or 5 different sources that poiinted to "Fornication Under Conscent of the King". as the root of it.

 

[DannyBoyUK]

The Fornication Under...theory is a myth - just as the word does not stem from For UnLawful Carnal Knowledge.

The acronym was hardly ever used in the English language before the 1920s.

The Fornication Under theory was first proposed in the May 1970 issue of Playboy and not before !

Another interesting (probable) myth is that it comes from the battles of soldiers of King Henry V and started as "pluck yew" - when bowmen were captured, the fore and index fingers would be cut off - the French soldiers mocked them by giving the 2 finger salute.

There is a 225 page paperback edited by Jesse Sheidlower called "The F word" which gives the full history of the word

......it is certainly not an acronym !