2006-11-26 15:51:12 · 22 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
The acronym story is a complete fabrication from the middle of the 20th century. It is completely false.
The word is the English cognate of the Proto-Germanic word *fukan 'have intercourse' which has its ultimate origin in Proto-Indo-European *pug- 'to strike' (compare English pugilist from Latin). The English word f*ck derived according to regular sound laws from the Proto-Germanic form and there are cognate forms in most of the other Germanic languages. It has moved in and out of vulgarity during its long reign in the Germanic languages. In some time periods it was simply the normal term for breeding animals. In Modern English it is moving out of being considered quite so vulgar since it is used so commonly.
2006-11-26 18:13:27 · answer #1 · answered by Taivo 7 · 5⤊ 1⤋
I always heard that it was an acronym: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. THe origin was said to be from the olden days when the authorities put people in stocks publicly. This goes all the way back to old England, long before our Puritans or any of that. Anyhow, they would put a sign around an offender's neck as he stood with his hands, head, and feet confined by the stocks.This would increase public humiliation. There would likely be a thief, liar, and such on display. THere were fornicators and adulterers, too. Since the phrase was so long for this offense, they used the acronym F**K. The acronym became the famous "F" word. In fact, I have always heard that they added an "er" to the word and put it around the adulterer's neck. Is this true? I dunno. But the term "laughing stock" also comes from this origin. DIdn't a rock group---some metal crowd---do an album by that name?
2006-11-26 16:31:04 · answer #2 · answered by mybella 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There are two main theories on the origin of that word. One is that the word originated from an old Germanc verb meaning to strike or penetrate.
The other theory is that it originated in the 1700's here in the US. It was an abbreviation for the way that the crime of adultry or proititution was listed in the records. It was supposedly listed as the person being arrested, "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" and eventually was shortenet to just the forst letters of the four words to save space and time.
Personally I tend to subscribe to the first about the origin being Germanic, but I have seen evidence in support of both theories.
2006-11-26 16:00:21 · answer #3 · answered by kveldulf_gondlir 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Fornication Under the Charter of the King. Take all the capital letters then you get the word you are looking for. In the ancient times of the British, people will have to take the permission of the King to get married. This is a typical English word and has no German origin at all.
As a matter of fact "fornicate" is to have sexual intercourse while unmarried. The slang and coloquial usage has made this word as a bad one.
2006-11-26 17:57:55 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Looks like Old Norse/German which would have been introduced into the English language via the Angles (from Frisia?) or the Normans (originally the Norse).
Also, and this is pure speculation, the origin of the word could have been onomatopoeic, where the actual sound was suggestive of its function
2006-11-26 16:28:09 · answer #5 · answered by troothskr 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Profanity and spoken indecencies have existed since the birth of language. They are offensive because they allude to the indecent. That's the answer I got from Chacha last night when I was wondering the same thing! I also think certain words are curse words because as children we were taught they were wrong. If you think about it, you don't know a word is wrong until someone tells you! I remember when I said "whore" at a friend's house and her mother asked me to watch my language. I didn't know whore was a bad word, but to some people certain words are offensive.
2016-05-23 07:42:44 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
haha, this is a funny question actually...
you're possibly right, i'm not 100% of the origin, but... i do know some german and the word "fick" means F*** in english, so maybe it does originate from the germanic language...
have you tried googling it? lol
2006-11-26 15:54:15 · answer #7 · answered by luvluv_86 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That particular word is one of the first acronyms in history :) It means:
"Fornication Under Certification of the King" - in other words, the king gave the right to his nobles to have relations with any young woman of their serfdom without reprisal of civil or religious authorities. This was in the Dark Ages. In later times the word came to mean sex without the blessings of the religious authorities.
2006-11-26 16:00:35 · answer #8 · answered by harpertara 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I don't personally know but that is one of the words I use mostly. So I am very interested in the origins of this great word and if anyone knows any better here and has some great links on the origins of words and language in general please, please, please me and educate us.
Oh please provide some links too. Especially some kind of dictionary of swear words. ha ha
2006-11-26 15:57:47 · answer #9 · answered by Halucinagenic 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
More information than you would ever care to know about the origins of that particular word:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/****
2006-11-26 15:58:26 · answer #10 · answered by Kelly B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋