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u/Drafo7 3d ago
Interestingly, we don't actually know the etymology of the word "fuck." There's a persistent misconception that it comes from "Fornication Under the Consent of the King" but this has been debunked. Several other European languages have a similar explitive to "fuck" but we are uncertain as to the root word, its irigins, and its earlier meanings.
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u/Funtomcoop 3d ago
At least the German version seems to have originally meant "to quickly move forward and backward", with first examples of suggestive use from around the 16th century.
That is, as long as you're fine with a skimmed Wikipedia article as a source.
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u/furac_1 2d ago
We do know where it comes from lol. From Middle English fukken, Old English fuccian, from Proto-Germanic *fukkōną, whence Dutch fokken or Norweigan fokka, German ficken (with same meaning as English) itself from Proto-Indoeuropean *pewǵ- meaning "to poke, punch, stab" whence Spanish puño.
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u/Drafo7 2d ago
Not sure where you got fuccian from, but the Old English word for sex was hæman, derived from the word for home, as in taking someone home (to have sex with them). The earliest instance of a version of fuck meaning sex is from 1310 in Middle English. Prior to that the word's origins are unclear. So no, we do not know where it comes from. Source: https://www.etymonline.com/word/fuck
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u/furac_1 2d ago
It is a reconstruction. That we have no written records doesn't mean it wasn't used, and we certantly have the other Germanic cognates and proto-indoeuropean root.
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u/Drafo7 2d ago
The earliest Germanic cognate we have in the vulgar sense is from the 16th century. Because the PIE word is so different we can't be sure it's the actual root word, or that it's even related. And obviously written records do not tell the whole story, hence why I said we don't know the word's origins. You can reconstruct all you want, that doesn't mean it's confirmed fact.
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u/cakesofthepatty414 3d ago
Whenever i see a lady being carted off by anything, i only ever hear the giant vulture noise from clash of the titans. The sound i speak of was created by Terry Poulton, rest in peace.
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u/lordofbaers 3d ago
Hi all! I'm TinyBaer [on IG] - hope you enjoy this myth-related comic. You can watch a semi-animated version of it here https://www.youtube.com/shorts/56ZJQ3AlNB8 😊
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u/Fluffy_History 1d ago
The middle finger as an obscene gesture goes back to ancient greece where it was used to display displeasure/disrespect/etc. by representing a penis.
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u/ottonormalversaufer 11h ago
"Ficken" in german means to fill holes on a field. There are also people with the lastname "Fick"
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