Who invented cuss words

The earliest examples of fuck in English appear in place names. These both feature a kestrel known as the Windfucker which, we must assume, went at the wind.

The next definite example comes from Bristol in Fockynggroue , which may have been named for a grove where couples went for some quiet alone time.

Like fuck , shit has a rich history, being used across the Germanic and Scandinavian languages, making it one of our oldest words.

Shit did not just happen in the countryside though. Street-names, for example, reflect the grotty state of urban living in graphic detail. This too is an old word, appearing across the Germanic and Scandinavian languages, although any connection to the Latin cunnus is unlikely, despite the apparent similarity. Originally, rather than being a taboo word, it was the general descriptive term for the vagina. Records of cunt start comparatively early. Nearly all of the early evidence comes from place names and even personal names—pity, or perhaps applaud, Bele Wydecunthe in , for example.

The most famous of the place names is Gropecuntlane which at one point appeared in twenty places, generally describing—with pleasing matter-of-factness—a red light district. Expletives seem to hold a very special place in the human mind. This means cussing is baked right into human instinct, nestled into the subconscious.

The researchers had Polish students translate texts that were filled with curse words, both general swear words and ethnic slurs, to see how they would translate them. When they translated from English into their native Polish, they tended to tone down how offensive the words were. What does profanity tell us about learning a language? It means that even once you nail the grammar and vocabulary, it might take time before you really start to emotionally resonate with the language. It also means you may want double check how words are used in a new language.

Even within a language, there can be differences in swearing culture. This has caused many an American tourist including myself to be scandalized. Swear words are culturally constructed, so to use them well, you need to learn about the culture that uses them.

Thomas grew up in suburban Massachusetts, and moved to New York City for college. He studied English literature and linguistics at New York University, but spent most of his time in college working for the student paper.

Because of this, he has really hard opinions about AP Style. He's spent a lot of time trying to learn Spanish, and has learned a little German. Thomas ist in einer Vorstadt in Massachusetts aufgewachsen und nach New York gezogen, um den krassen Kontrast zu erleben. Deshalb ist er auch etwas pedantisch, was Textstandards angeht. Ha studiato Letteratura inglese e Linguistica alla New York University ma ha trascorso la maggior parte del tempo a lavorare al giornale scolastico.

Thomas cresceu na suburbana Massachusetts, e se mudou para Nova York para fazer faculdade. Even if you never work up the nerve to strike back, it never hurts to recognize a sick burn when you hear one.

When we surveyed a small panel of our Babbel colleagues who grew up in other countries, most agreed that English profanities are kind of repetitive and overly focused on sex. Perhaps the tradeoff is that you can lob an F-bomb anywhere in the world and be understood. If what you want is to become a sophisticated sommelier of curse words in other languages, this article is a good place to start diversifying your palate.

We answered some of the most frequently Googled questions about curse words in other languages. Easy: you acquaint yourself with some basic building block words and just stack them together. The more elaborate you get, the more you raise the stakes. Yep, that one will register in France too, which may or may not have something to do with the fact that French people really love the F-word.

Next is the chin flick, which you might associate with Italy but is also common in France. Need a slightly stronger version of this? Slap your bicep with your palm as you jerk the other forearm toward your face. Generally speaking, Scandinavian countries love to invoke the devil, Satan and Hell more than the sex- and potty humor—related fixations of English speakers.

Russians are known to be pretty colorful and creative in their verbal expressions. Sometimes the humor derives from the fact that the Spanish-speaking world is vast and diverse, which means that the same word can often have different cultural meanings depending on where you are.

Your call. Everything that moves? The world is your toilet. Is this really a question you even need to ask? To be clear, Germans swear a lot — about as much as anyone else — but the swears, at least according to one of our native German experts, are more straightforward and less creative than they are in some languages.

Steph is a writer, lindy hopper, and astrologer. Today, however, bitch has a wide variety of meanings, some of which actually have positive connotations.

Origin: Early 16th century, of Germanic origin compare with Swedish dialect focka and Dutch dialect fokkelen ; possibly from an Indo-European root meaning "strike," shared by Latin pungus , meaning "fist.

This is the big one. Well, one of the big ones. The other big ones were a bit too big for us to put in print. In modern speech and writing, the word fuck is almost as offensive as you can get. Of course, that doesn't stop most people from using it creatively on a regular basis, but it does keep this word contained to HBO dramas about medieval warfare and albums labeled "Explicit.

Isn't it interesting that in today's world, it's more offensive to refer to copulation in a vulgar way than it is to wish eternal damnation on someone? I personally think our priorities are a bit out of whack on this one, but alas, I don't make the rules.

I hope you feel like as much of a rebel reading these swear words as I did while writing them. Can you believe I got paid to do this? I love my job. We're scoundrels, all of us! Don't forget to join the fun next week when we scooch forward in time a bit to look at expletives and obscenity laws. It's going to be effin' awesome!

Taylor Dennis is a writer and editor based out of Toronto, ON. She's obsessed with dogs, food, serial commas, and the written word, pretty much exactly in that order.

You can find more of her work at taylordenniswrites. English is not my first language. I need English editing and proofreading so that I sound like a native speaker. I need to have my journal article, dissertation, or term paper edited and proofread, or I need help with an admissions essay or proposal.

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Here are some examples of contexts in which the word can be used: Oh no—I stepped in dog shit. He's behaving like a little shit. Don't you dare give me that shit. This is a really shitty movie. Don't touch my shit! I need to take a piss. That cat just pissed all over the carpet. Oh, piss off! I'm so pissed that you just ate my last French fry.

Ass Origin: Variant of arse. He fell right on his ass. Don't be such an ass. That asshole called me ugly!