Shavecuntewelle in Kent in , for example, could describe a nearby valley with a narrow wooded area—a literal lady-garden, if you will—or it could be a site where women were punished. Cuntewellewang in Lincolnshire seems to describe a similar type of landscape. Perhaps the most glorious example of cunt in a place name is Hungery Cunt , found in a military map of Kinross-shire, Scotland.
Disappointingly, though, this is probably just a mistake: a misreading of Hungeremout. These early instances of now heavily taboo words open up the world of normal people in medieval England and a different—and more vibrant—picture of the history of our language. They allow us to meet a very literal and pragmatic people with a healthy sense of toilet humour about their bodies and their environment.
They were, and they wrote their fare share of smut to prove it. Take the following example, which, more than anything else, shows that dick-jokes are universal:. This piece originally appeared on newstatesman. You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser and improve your visit to our site. Tired of Typos? Get Help Now! Curse words give us a colorful vocabulary that goes beyond our everyday ways of expressing emotion.
But, where did those filthy yet cathartic expressions come from? Well, we took a deep look into some of the most common swears around. These days people also use it to describe a large amount of something shit ton , anyone? Arshole , with ass being a variant of arse , is even older, recorded in the s.
There have been many tall tales about the origin of fuck. The use of fuck as an insult you stupid fuck is an Americanism from the s. These days, you can fuck around , over , about , up , and off ; the list goes on. Our filthy, foul mouths have created a fuck for every occasion. Worried about how often you let this word slip? Floo-Foo McPoodles a bitch. Fuckbythenavel could be an example of either sense, really— it could refer to striking someone in the belly or some sexual proclivity or youthful error?
Without context, it is impossible to tell. An envious Windfucker — Modern swearing began in the Renaissance. In the Renaissance, the power of oaths began to decline. Words that were simply direct in the Middle Ages started to take over as the new obscenities. Inexpressibles, limbs, and osculation — The Victorian era was the age of euphemism. The sexual and scatological obscenities were at their most offensive during the Victorian era.
These words disappeared from print and most speech, and any word that even pointed roughly in their direction was euphemized. Victorians therefore avoided trousers and instead referred to inexpressibles, indescribables, etceteras, unmentionables, ineffables, indispensables, innominables, inexplicables, and continuations.
Leg became limb or, even better, lower extremity. Kissing became osculation; people stopped sweating and started perspiring. Our brain processes swearwords differently from other language. In our brains, swearwords are stored and processed differently from other language.
Most propositional speech-words strung together in an original form-is a product of the left hemisphere of the brain. Swearwords, though, come mostly from the limbic system in the right hemisphere. The limbic system records the emotional content of words, which is why swearing really does work to relieve pain and frustration, and to praise or insult other people. These words access and give vent to our emotions in ways other words cannot. Today the worst words in the English language are the racial slurs, but we are getting more and more offended by epithets of any sort.
It is becoming more and more taboo to essentialise anyone or anything in a single word, as epithets do, whether that word sums up a person by race, mental acuity retard , physical disability cripple , or size fat.
These are the swearwords of the future. To comment you must now be an Irish Times subscriber. Please subscribe to sign in to comment. Please update your payment details to keep enjoying your Irish Times subscription. Melissa Mohr. Cunnilingus and irrumatio — Latin swearing was interestingly different Latin obscenity was in some ways much like our own, being based around sexual and excretory taboos.
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