Why was the middle finger used to define the the "f" word and who was the first one to ever use it?

Answer 1

Your question brought back something i have not thought about in more than 40 years . Back in 1966 I was on the USS Hornet which was an air craft carrier. On Air Craft carriers the last thing the pilot and the catapult officer give each other is the "thumbs up" which is the signal that everything is OK and then Zoommmm.....the plane is gone!! So in the Navy "thumbs up" became the general jjesture meaning "everything is cool man" and is Universal among sailors and marines as a very poisitve sign.

Well we went into Sydney, Australia in Feb 1966 and no one told us that "thumbs up" does not mean the same there as it meant to us. "Thumbs up" in Australia had/has roughly the same meaning as the extended middle finger does in our country. Add too much Aussie beer and a little bravado and misunderstandings happen. A group of sailors start drinking with some friendly Aussie's. The Aussies offer to buy a round. The sailors give the buying Aussie a "thumbs up". Bingo fist city.

Answer 2

....So much for history. There's not much that makes linguistic sense here, either. The claim that the "difficult consonant cluster at the beginning" of the phase 'pluck yew' has "gradually changed to a labiodental fricative 'f'" is specious. A labiodental fricative was no less "difficult" for Middle English speakers to pronounce than the aspirated bilabial stop/voiceless lateral combination of 'pl' that the fricative supposedly changed into, nor are there any other examples of such a shift occurring in English. As well, the etymology of the word 'f*ck' indicates that the word originated in a completely different time, place, and manner than the absurd version presented here. And on top of all that, the insulting gesture of extending one's middle finger (digitus impudicus in Latin) dates from Roman times (at least 2,000 years ago), so it obviously was not developed in conjunction with the creation of the English word 'f*ck.'"

Answer 3

It orginated in the medievel days during the wars between France and England. The English used to cut-off the plucking finger of French Archers (the middle finger), however the Frend men-at-arm chided the English knights before a battle and raised their handed shouting "pluck you",...which evolved to the 'f' word today. Which is why you always hear people say 'excuse my french" when using the 'f' word.

Armies used to show their genitalia and arses before battle, as well as hurl the severed heads of their comrades before joining battle. I guess war was pretty barbaric in medieval times.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

That's an interesting question. In other cultures they have other hand gestures that mean the same thing. Some show the thumb; can you imagine thumbing a ride in those countries? lol

Answer 6

It looks like an erect penis and the fist represents testicles. I was the first one to ever flip anyone off.

Answer 7

I believe it was Genges Kahn and he really meant - "hey I need a ride on your camel".