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== Usage history ==
{{main|History of the word "fuck"}}


=== Early usage ===
Its first known use as a verb meaning to have sexual intercourse is in "Flen flyys" (see above) some time before 1500.

] ] poem "Brash of Wowing" includes the lines: "Yit be his feiris he wald haif fukkit:/ Ye brek my hairt, my bony ane."

Some time around ], before the term acquired its current meaning, "windfucker" was an acceptable name for the bird now known as the ].

While ] never used the term explicitly, he hinted at it in comic scenes in several plays. '']'' (IV.i) contains ''focative case'' (see ]). In '']'' (IV.iv), Pistol threatens to ''firk'' (strike) a soldier, a ] for ''fuck''.



=== Freedom of expression ===
In 1971, the ] decided that the mere public display of ''fuck'' is protected under the ] and ] and cannot be made a criminal offense. In 1968, Paul Robert Cohen had been convicted of "disturbing the peace" for wearing a jacket with "FUCK THE DRAFT" on it (in reference to conscription in the ].) The conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeals and overturned by the Supreme Court. '']'', ''403 U.S. 15'' (1971).

Pornographer ], representing himself before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1983 in a ] case, shouted, "Fuck this court!" during the proceedings and called the justices "nothing but eight assholes and a token cunt." Chief Justice ] had him arrested for ] but the charge was later dismissed.

=== Popular usage ===
In the ], the ] fines stations for the broadcast of "indecent language," but in 2003 the agency's enforcement bureau ruled that the airing of the statement "This is really, really fucking brilliant!" by ] member ] after receiving a ] was neither obscene nor indecent. As U.S. broadcast indecency regulation only extends to depictions or descriptions of sexual or excretory functions, Bono's use of the word as a mere ] was not covered.

In early 2004, the full Commission reversed the bureau ruling, in an order that stated that "the F-word is one of the most vulgar, graphic and explicit descriptions of sexual activity in the English language;" a fine, however, has yet to result. Notwithstanding widespread usage and linguistic analysis to the contrary, the reversal was premised on the conclusion that the word "fuck" has ''always'' referred to sexual activity, a claim that the FCC neither explained nor supported with evidence. Even on cable television, which is not regulated by the FCC, few channels will broadcast the word "fuck" because of a fear of backlash from advertisers.

In some television ] shows, altered versions of the word have been created to allow characters to express themselves without getting into trouble with the censors. For example, in '']'' the word is "]," and in '']'' the word is "frak," while '']'' uses "]" in a similar context. In the series '']'', the characters will often switch to ] to swear, again avoiding any indecency. A similar ploy came in the British ] ], where the characters say "]" on a regular basis. Also on the NBC comedy "Scrubs" Elliot Reid sometimes says ] to show frustration

British television show ] was widely known to stand for "Thank Fuck It's Friday", the title having been shortened because the show was to be broadcast before the ] (although, officially, T.F.I. Friday stood for "Thank Four It's Friday", (Channel) Four being the station on which it was broadcast). The show also holds the record for the most frequent use of the word "fuck" to a pre-watershed audience, owing to guest ] using the word 9 times whilst impersonating the frontman of the band ], despite the best efforts of Channel 4. Ryder is now the only person to appear by name in the Channel 4 policy document.{{fact}} The show inspired another show named ], or "Oh Fuck It's Sunday".

==== Common alternatives ====
{{main|Minced oath}}

In conversation or writing, reference to or use of the word fuck may be replaced by any of a large list of alternative words or phrases including "F word," "F Bomb" (a play off of the ] and ]) and "Frack/Frel/fetching/freaking/fricking/friggin/flocking/flippin/fluffing/fecking/effing/hecking/cruding". It may also be called "F sharp" (as in the music note){{citation needed}}.

=== Interlingual homophony ===
==== German ====
Although the word "to fuck" literally translates as "ficken," and the exclamation of "fuck" translates usually as "Scheiße" (literally '']'') or "Mist" (literally '']''), the exclamation "fuck" itself has been known to have been "borrowed" into the German language as a swear word and is in semi-frequent use. It is to be noted, however, that "ficken" and all its derivatives, notably the adverbial "verfickt" (for "fucking") is being rather frequently used in German, especially among young people, in the same way "fuck" is being used in profane English. However, Altavista's uses the word ''bumsen'' for the German translation of "fuck" and "to fuck", ''bumser'' for "fucker" and ''scheisse'' for "fucking".

==== Dutch ====
As per the German, but the direct translation of "to fuck" would be "neuken." Its use in both languages, however, is considered less offensive than the same word in English.

==== Afrikaans ====
In ], the slang word ''fok'' has been adopted as an Afrikaans equivalent of fuck, due to the influence English media and language in South Africa. Coincidentally, the Afrikaans word for "subject" (in the sense of an area of knowledge) is ''vak''. Its pronunciation resembles that of the word ''fuck'' in English.

==== French ====
In ], the word for ] (the animal) is ''phoque''. Its pronunciation in French resembles that of the word ''fuck'' in English. In ] French, ''phoque'' sounds like the British pronunciation of ''fuck'' while in ], ''phoque'' sounds like the ] pronunciation, due to ] (although this actually is coincidental, and has no relation to the English word.) Somewhat similarly, the adjective "fucké" is a slang term commonly used in ] to describe something that is broken or off-kilter or also someone who does not have his complete mind. It is not considered particularly offensive.

In the movie ], the abbreviation of the French word for university is ''fac'' (faculté), which is mistaken for ''fuck'' by one of the British characters.

==== Hebrew ====
In ], the equivalent word is ''lezayen'', and its origin (that was inoffensive) is old enough to appear in the ] in the term ''kley zayin'' (tools of armament -- weaponry). ''Zayin'', the weapon, has eventually become a colloquial and rude term for the penis, and that change is what the couplation-related words derive from in Hebrew. Similarly to English, the Hebrew word can be used as most any part of speech: a verb (''lezayen''), a noun (''ziyun''), an adjective (''mezuyan'' or ''mizdayen''), but not as an adverb nor an infix and not even a common expletive.

The term ''kley zayin'' has fallen out of use in modern-day Hebrew and is virtually never used.

==== Latin ====
In ], the verbs 'to make' and 'to do' both translate as ''facere''. Except for the unaspirated hard 'c', pronounciation (of the stem) is the same.


== Further reference == == Further reference ==

Revision as of 22:42, 14 June 2006

For other uses, see Fuck (disambiguation).

"Fuck" is an English word which, when used literally as a verb, means "to have sexual intercourse". It is generally considered one of the most vulgar words in the English language and a classic example of the swear word. Because of its offensive nature it is commonly referred to as the "f-word".

The versatility of the words means it can be used as a verb (to fuck), noun (a fuck), adjective (fucking), adverb, or interjection. Fuck is also one of the few words in standard English commonly used as an infix, as in 'absofuckinglutely' or 'infuckingcredible', along with several other expletive infixes.

It is unclear whether the word had always been considered impolite and, if not, when it was initially considered to be profane. Some evidence indicates that in some English-speaking locales it was considered acceptable as late as the 17th century meaning "to strike" or "to penetrate". Other evidence indicates that it may have become vulgar as early as the 16th century in England. Other reputable sources such as the Oxford English Dictionary contend the true etymology is still uncertain but appears to point to an Anglo-Saxon origin that in later times spread to the British colonies and worldwide.



Further reference

  • Hargrave, Andrea Millwood (2000). Delete Expletives? London: Advertising Standards Authority, British Broadcasting Corporation, Broadcasting Standards Commission, Independent Television Commission.
  • Jesse Sheidlower, The F Word (1999) ISBN 0375706348. Presents hundreds of uses of fuck and related words.
  • Michael Swan, Practical English Usage, OUP, 1995, ISBN 019431197X
  • Phillip J. Cunningham, Zakennayo!: The Real Japanese You Were Never Taught in School, Plume (1995) ISBN 0452275067
  • Wayland Young, Eros Denied: Sex in Western Society. Grove Press/Zebra Books, New York 1964.

See also

External links

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