Was the F word in common usage as a swear word in 1916?

Question

I know it is a very old word but what I'd like to know is was it as commonly used by soldiers in the WW1 trenches as it is in general society (whether we like it or not) in the current day. I wonder if modern day filmmakers and authors use it for the benefit of modern day audiences when it is not, in fact, historically accurate.

Answer 1

Oh yes a misremembered quote from a book set in the early days of WWI that I read a long time ago " and the soldier kicked the van saying the *ucking *ucker's *ucked and that's the first time I had heard the word used as a [something] noun and verb in a single sentence".

Answer 2

The etymology of the F word is fich (germanic) which means to hit with a stick about 500 years ago

Answer 3

Yes. According to http://www.dictionary.com the word was first used/printed sometime before 1500 in a poem. It was outlawed in print in England in the mid 1800s, so it would have been in use at least regularly by then.

Answer 4

Yes, its been around a long time ago. Im reading a book set in WW1 and they use it all the time.

Answer 5

Also 1816, 1716, 1616...

Answer 6

yes it was the F word has been in use since the 15th century . but it meant some thing very different then . it was used to describe the action of planting potatoes.

Answer 7

you might find this article interesting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F***

replace the three stars with the initials of Umbrella, Canon, and Kaleidoscope respectively (because otherwise this f***in forum will censor the URL and you won't end up where you're meant to go!)

Answer 8

Well it wasn't common when I was younger, and I am 43 now - so I would say no.
I am sure it was around, but you are talking about common usage

Answer 9

Yes I think it went back to the Roman period and maybe before

Answer 10

Do you classify words by letters ? Which is the A word ?
Please, provide the key for the words