The Origin of Fuck: An Author's Research Rabbit Hole

The Origin of Fuck: An Author's Research Rabbit Hole

Authors tend to fall down research rabbit holes when checking the accuracy of a story. Or chasing down random ideas. The internet makes it easier than ever, but you still have to double-check your sources when using the World Wide Web.

Have you ever wondered where our culture got such an offensive word as fuck? Well, in case you’ve ever wondered that exact question, I have an answer for you. Because I fell down the rabbit hole after asking:

Where the fuck did the word fuck come from?

Shall I ponder?

Angel Cursed was the first book I wrote set in a historical period. Since my high school history classes were... ahem... let’s just say quite a while ago, my memory supplied very little about the 1700s.

For story purposes, I actually didn’t need to focus heavily on the historical setting. Because I could bend a few facts to fit my fantasy world. For instance, I was able to make Gladys (a witch) refuse to accept the social norms imposed on women. That said, I still had to weave in enough period details to make it believable. Things like a privy, candles, oil lamps ... you get the idea.

Anyway, I had a line I wanted to use long before I even started writing the novelette, and it included the word fuck. So naturally, my research brain immediately went to:

Did they even say that word in the 1700s?

Turns out... they did. Score for me. So my favorite line earned its place in Angel Cursed:

“Tell me something, sweetheart. Who’s the sick fuck that collared you?”

Can you guess the first recorded use of the word?

Cue the drumroll... November 3, 1310.

It appeared in a name recorded in the Chester County Court Plea Rolls: Roger Fuckebythenavele.

Okay... but it gets better. Because ... what is going on with the rest of that last name?

According to one article, there are two leading theories.

The first, and considerably less flattering to Roger’s reputation, is that he either attempted to have sex through his partner’s navel or was foolish enough to think that’s how it worked. The second suggests it referred to rubbing (frottage) against a partner’s belly button, possibly as an attempt to avoid conception. Either way... poor Roger.

Personally, I think someone was just pulling a Michael Scott. A prank, but if I’m right? It still proves the word existed.

Wikipedia notes that, while the word’s ultimate origin remains obscure, it’s generally accepted that one of the earliest attestations appears around 1475 in a coded poem mixing Latin and English. The poem, Flen flyys, satirized the Carmelite friars of Cambridge. One encoded line, when deciphered, translates roughly to:

“They are not in heaven because they fuck the women of Ely.”

The phrase was likely encoded because it accused monks of violating their vows of celibacy.

The oldest known adjectival form, which implies the verb was already in common use, appears in the margin of a 1528 manuscript copy of Cicero’s De Officiis. A monk had scribbled the words:

“fuckin Abbot”

Historians aren’t sure whether he literally meant the abbot was sexually active or whether he was simply using the word as an intensifier to express his frustration.

There’s more, but I think I’ve made my point.

If you’re reading a historical novel and the word fuck pops up, don’t let it pull you out of the story. Because, as it turns out, it’s been around for a very long time.

And if you’d like to read Angel Cursed, it’s free.

Pick up your copy and get ready to tumble down your own rabbit hole. The Watchers and Warriors world can be addictive! Check out my character compendium or my books page for more information on the entire series.

Description: Bound to the mortal realm, a cursed fallen angel's wish for death takes on new meaning when a mage running from an unwanted prophecy lands, bleeding and bare, at his front door.

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