Has anyone ever seen "The Origin of the 'F' Word" ??

I've seen and heard a few different versions, but they're all pretty much the same.

But for me, personally, cussing isn't ALL THAT bad. My parents call me a potty mouth, but I don't cuss infront of them... sorta a respect thing? But also cause I don't want my butt kicked.

I would say that cussing's much more of a personal preference when and where you say them. Cause I know that I cuss with my friends all the time, but never with my grandparents or someone important that I want to impress like at an interview.

It makes me laugh when I hear kids at my school use swear words 98% of the time, and I ask them if they have any other words in their vocabulary other than something derogatory, and then they ask me what that means! HAHA!

Kinda shows your intelligence to some degree... then again... I live out in the sticks. Everyone speaks "part Billy" 'round here. x)

Hey, i use "bloody Wan***" all the time...its really funny to see that practically no one that i tell it to understands that its not a nice thing to say...hehehe

Actually, i think that because swearing is used soo much in hollywood and the music industry, it has become somewhat of a norm to curse and whatnot. I personally dont see anything wrong with it...if the occasion calls for it, that is. I'm not a huge fan of dialogue that is strewen with profanities on a daily basis...they are for emphasis and whatnot, not general adjectives

ah? i thought it came from the word "facere"(to do)...?!^^;;

You guys, look up f**k on Wikipedia and it gives all kinds of stories as to the origin of the word, as well as the most likely sources. I don't think anybody knows for sure where it came from. Apparently though it has been used as a slang for sexual intercourse in English since at least 1500!

I just wish to point out I mentioned the 'jerk' thing, so I know.

Society probably didn't appreciate you calling someone an idiot at one stage in time but it became common. Now with swearing becoming more common it is also less of a shock so in several years time the harshest swear words will be said by all.

The jerk store called and they're running out of you!

(obligatory seinfeld reference~)

lol, I wont go into the Visa-Vera tho,

Please do

lol, I said I wouldnt for a reason,

I don't mind when people curse around me, but as for me I rarely curse.

Its not that I think its informal or anything, I just don't see the need to.

Some people claim it makes them 'feel better' when they are frustrated, but it never worked for me. So I keep my mouth shut about those certain words.

However, I may sometimes say 'sh!t' just because I think its a fun word.

^I'm with ya' there, PUKE. 'Cept I like to say "crap" sometimes 'cause it sounds funny.... Then I beat myself up for saying it... lol

I've only known one person to have considered crap a swear.

I curse sometimes, but never too much. Almost never in written form.

One thing I hate are all this asterisks in words... It doesn't make sense. If you think a word is not suitable for being written in full lengh then don't use it at all!





Its just an empty page on Wikipedia for me - is it censored for some countries or what?

That page could just no be loading for you...

Swearing isn't bad, its society that makes them what they are.

'Swear' words to me are like any other words, but I hardly use them.

But there was this one time in 1st Grade where I decided to make up words with random letters and I wrote, "f*!@" on accident and I was sent to the principal's office. I had no idea what I did wrong.

There is absoutly nothing wrong with any of thoes words.

In and of themselves, there only words. Harmless little words. Its the context that counts in the situation. Its the user, the person saying the words. Its the intention behind the word which makes them good or bad.

The words are completly neutral, the words are innocent. I get tierd of hearing about bad words and bad language, thats all bullshit. Its the context that makes them good or bad...

To be honest, I swear a lot. Ever since I started high school I went on this swearing spree. It's just when I'm around teachers I never swear.
IMO I think swearing has gone too far. When rating movies PG will accept words like "shit". If a 12 year old sees this movie they will continue to use the word shit.
When I was in primary, I used to go through the phase of "OH MY GOSH YOU SAID THE S-WORD!" or "I heard my daddy say the F-word." However, now people do not say "the s-word" they just go around and say sh*t.

I try my best not to swear in front of people. Actually I only swear when I am feeling extremely mad (which is when I speak before I think) or an immense amount of pain.

Now, I do not think that swearing is what would be considered a "big" deal anymore, most words have already lost the impact that they used to have. I certainly do not mind if people swear, but I don't see the need of doing so.

Im sorry phoenix dying but i dont really agree, thwe words them self might not be wrong but is is how people use and say them. The other day when i was on the bus there was a little kid (about 4 years old)sitting nere me saying things like"that park is a s*#t hole Mum, now you say that the words are innocent, but how can a little kid sound innocent while saying something like that?

A little food for thought. The word N*gger. Is derived from niger (pronounced N-eye-g-air)

The Latin word for the color black.

In my opinion, swearing appears to be about social psychology (programming). you can increase your sensitivity to swearing by decreasing your use and your exposure to it siginificantly. I did this a long time ago and over time found myself extremely sensitive to many words that I had used a lot. Obviously the exact opposite is true in that you can completely desensitize yourself to it as well.

I think its purpose is to provoke an emotional response using the shortest amount of syllables (and letters). Once the emotional provocativeness is lost, the words cease to be meaningful other than as needless "fillers". Technically many words we use all the time actually have no meaning in context anyway. They end up purely to be used for social reasons (to shock those outside your social networks - acts as a kind of "keep away" to those who can't deal with it, to show a range of comfort in certain social contexts - i.e. swearing is a way to fit in even when it's fitting in with those outside your normal social group)

In the professional world, you want to keep your swearing to a minimum in public, but in private, it's normally fine (even the worst of it except racial slurs, which will get you fired). It's an interesting phenomena to see a normally well respected manager swearing regularly in a private conversation.

I've found that cursing works in adding emphasis to certain proclamations.
Like, in the homogay thread, I suggested yukieiri pull her coach aside and tell him to 'tone [his behavior] the f*ck down.' Adding 'f*ck' to the sentence conveys a greater sense of anger/frustration than simply saying, 'tone it down.' One is simply more proactive than the other.

Most definately, but it can also be an action. Like "f--- off". "Off" by itself would make no sense.

I don't agree with cursing in a normal conversation and I believe it shows a persons ignorance nine times out of ten. But using curse words to convey importance does make sense. Unless the person is prone to curse all of the time then using it in a sentence would grab the other persons attention. Alternatively, if the person does consistently use vulgar language then the point would be lost and the person would gain the label of ignorant.

Face the reality....sometimes... some friends won't let you have the attention you needed unless you start inserting swear words in your conversation... I did that often when I hang around with talkative and tend-to-intercept-conversation friends...

Me too. And I still do. It's become a habit. It's difficult not to curse around my parents. It's grown on me, I guess you could say. I also picked it up from my dad, who curses constantly. Whenever I get in an arguement with my mum and accidentally curse, she'll go off on me and ask me who taught me. Then I'd say, "Your husband." and leave her there, steaming.

I don't really see what's wrong with swear words. They're so losely defined by society, it's a stupid matter.. They're just words. Usually taken out of their original context.

That's a crappy defence. The American Bill of Rights is just words, so is the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence. Swear all you want, I'll join you but don't say they're just words as if it means they have no power.

If words were just words, then no one would be heart broken when their bf/gf tells them, "I'm seeing another person." No one would be p*ssed when their best friend gets in an arguement with them and curses at them and calls them hurtful names.

For me Swearing isn't much of a problem bec. I swear even if I'm still 12 my parents allow me as long as there is a reason for using such words but I never use



since these words have no excuse to be used at all. Also words that refer to genitals are just used to make people feel less perverted or at least not use the word itself so that they fell a bit comfortable saying the said genitals. So in truth Swearing has its ups and downs but should be used in proper situations or at least not against another person in a rude way such as racism.

And well swearing helps sometimes in saying terms that are sometimes quite hard to express like when you want someone to be quiet but won't listen to you even when you say it politely to them already then say shut up and they mostly listen to you since your words are already expressing slight anger or frustration as just Absruse Eulogy-san has said already.

So I really don't think there's harm in using these words at all.

When it comes to movies and TV, I really don't think it matters at this point, in my eyes. Although after seeing the South Park movie years ago, everything seems pretty mild and tame. Now, by this I don't mean that all censors should be taken off. What I meant was I think it's silly to mark a movie as R just because of foul language. I mean, yeah, children get influenced easily, but teenagers aren't going to be affected by language in the same way.

However, it DOES matter whose presence you're in when you swear. If you're with your friends, sure, go ahead, I do all the time. If you're confronting someone of authority, like a teacher, police officer, etc., swearing just makes you look uncivilized and completely disrespectful, so that's a no-no.

I usually swear freely, but I down-right refuse to swear in front of my mother, senior citizens, and few others of my family and friend's parents. Otherwise, I'm a firecracker

The worst swear word to me is 'f*ck' and I don't say it as much.

And even though I was rebel born and raised, I don NOT use raciest remarks.

I think that a person's view on curse words depends on how they are used in their life. For example, my mom curses for everything, and not quietly, but never at anyone, just in general, so it doesn't really bother me. My dad, on the other hand, had an alcoholic mother who cursed at him all the time, and thus, he gets insulted just hearing someone say 'jerk'.

About them having power, I think they only have as much power as people give them. I know people who curse so often it's the equivalent of a valley girl and the word 'like' and it ends up not meaning anything except an extra emphatical adjective. They are just words, no matter how much power you think they have because the power is all superficial. If I decided today that 'lamp' was extremely offending and told everyone I knew, I'm giving a seemingly innocent word "power" and bam, 'lamp' might one day be used to offend people. Now, they do have power now that it's been given, so they aren't normal words anymore, but if people were to stop using them as insults, eventually their power would diminish and they would be 'normal' words again.

Swearing doesn't bother me at all. I do, however, self-censor, often humously. (F-word becomes "hug")