A Questionable Etymology

The bogus origins of a popular curse word

Some time ago I received the following query:

A friend sent me an email with origins of common sayings. One was about------

in ancient England, when a couple wanted to have a baby, they had to obtain permission from the King. He would issue a placard for them to hang on their door--- F. U. C. K.-------Fornication under consent of the King. Is this, as the email stated, the origin of the word fu--?

 

After I finished laughing I sent a reply:

Sorry, but it looks like someone's pulling your leg. I have never heard of any culture in Great Britain that required royal permission for procreation. Although in feudal society (mid-11th century and later) permission to marry -- and thus bear legitimate children -- was a right bestowed on knights by their liege-lords, the wedding ceremony itself was their way of proclaiming to the world that the couple could live together as man and wife and create a family (and best of luck to them since the infant mortality rate was so high). As for a placard, in a society where very few people outside the Church (including most of the nobility) could read, such a device would serve no real purpose.

Also, keep in mind that Anglo-Saxon and all other languages spoken in early England (including the Latin used by ecclesiastics) bore very little resemblance to modern English.

You might be interested in checking Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary which gives the etymology for fu-- as: "akin to Dutch _fokken_ to breed (cattle), Swedish dialect _fokka_ to copulate."

 

When looking for the origins of a phrase, it always pays to start with a visit to a dictionary or encyclopedia. You'd be surprised how much bunk a trip like that can clear up! It also helps to remember that, as site visitor Jeff Firestone pointed out, acronyms are not an important part of the language before World War II.

Update

Shortly after I first posted the above email exchange, I received this from a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism:

I have always understood that it stands for the phrase For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and applies to sex without the benefit of marriage. I have never heard that the word was used in medieval times.

 

My reply:

As stated in the article, the origin of the F-word in the English language comes from the Dutch verb "fokken," to breed. Webster's Collegiate dictionary dates the use of the word in the English language to 1503 (look it up yourself at http://www.m-w.com/). This is the earliest they can substantiate it in printed use. While there is certainly no proof that the f-word was used in English before the 16th c., the fact that it comes from a Scandinavian word opens the possibility that it was in use much earlier, since Old English (Anglo-Saxon) has its origins in Scandinavian and Teutonic languages.

The explanation you quote sounds like folklore, though admittedly not as unlikely as that given in the original email. If you can substantiate it, I would be very interested in any evidence you could provide.

 

Her response: 

Thanks for your reply. I didn't expect one so soon. My source for the definition is my mother who is no longer living. Hmmm. This is something I'll have to research.

 

I suppose shedding long-held "truths" learned from one's parents is not an easy thing. My late Dad, a Texan through and through, liked to regale folks with the tale of Ima Hogg, a noted philanthropist and daughter of Texas Governor Jim Hogg, and her sister Ura. At college I learned that there was indeed an Ima Hogg, and that she really did endow foundations and give generously to charity in direct contradiction to her unfortunate name.

Ura, on the other hand, never existed, and now that Dad's gone I'll never know if she was a long-held myth or his own fabrication. I suspect the former, but am pleased by the thought of the latter.

I inherited my love of history from Dad, who was an American- and Modern-History buff. I think I also learned my skepticism from his tall Texas tales.

By the way, it's been two years and I haven't received any info on the results of my visitor's "research." I wonder what she discovered?

 

For more about questionable trivia, see No Trivial Matter; or if you came from there, go back to the last page.

For more about word origins, visit Take Our Word For It, which also has an article on The Etymology of Some Obscenities.

 

 

 

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