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From: aeb@turing.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.jokes.d,net.nlang
Subject: Re: Origin of that strongest of words
Message-ID: <208@turing.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 3-Oct-84 02:48:15 EDT
Article-I.D.: turing.208
Posted: Wed Oct  3 02:48:15 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 4-Oct-84 05:02:22 EDT
Organization: CWI, Amsterdam
Lines: 62
Apparently-To: rnews@mcvax.LOCAL

On the etymology of FUCK

Although people have suggested ancient etyma for, and with the
same meaning as, fuck
	[so e.g., Egyptian petcha 'to copulate with', or similar words
	 in Arabic, or the Celtic root *buc- 'a point, to pierce'
	 (Cf. Ir. bot, Mx. bwoit 'penis') which might be the origin of
	 Latin battuere 'to strike', futuere 'to sleep with'
		[Ref. P. Malvezin, Dictionnaire des racines celtiques, 1924]
	]
it seems that in the germanic languages this word acquired its present
meaning only relatively recently.
The basic meaning seems to have been something like 'to thrust, push'.
Of course it is possible that such a semantic change has occurred in
several languages independently.

It is clear that Eng. fuck is related to Dutch fokken 'to breed' and
most likely also to German ficken 'to fuck'. (But the vocalism in the G.
word is not clear.)
Let me trace the oldest attested meanings for the D. and G. words.

My Flemish - Flemish & French dictionary from 1717 gives:
	Fok	Fokzeil / Bril		('foresail' / 'spectacles')
	Fokkery	Queekery van hoenderen	('poultry breeding')
	Hy heeft al wel aangefokt	Il a deja une famille nombreuse

The MiddleDutch dictionary (Verdam) has:
	Focke	Klein zeil		('small sail')
	Focken	Een loopje nemen met iemand ('to pull a person's leg')
	Fockert	Oplichter(?)		('swindler')

Kiliaen (16th century) already gives the following meanings for focken:
	'to hoist the sails, to flee, to fit sth., to befit, to thrust,
	 to gather secretly'

In Frisian:
	fok	fokzeil / bril / driehoekig stuk land 'triangular area'
	fokke, fokje	fokken 'to breed'

In German:
	ficken 'to fuck' (since 16th century), 'to move quickly to and fro'
		in MHG: 'to rub'
		16th c.: vycken 'to hit with birch-rods'
		in OHG: mich vikchit 'I itch'

In Scandinavian:
	Sw. focka 'to throw out, to fire, to chase away'
	ESw dial. focka 'to throw, drive, push, punch, hit'
	Bohusl. focka, Nor. fukka, ODa. fukke, Jutl. focke 'to fuck'
	Nor. fik[l]a 'to stir violently, to fumble'
		[Ref: H. Celander, Orden fock, focka och deres slaektingar.
		Goeteborgs Hoegskolas Aarsskrift 31 (1925) 112-117.]

I disagree with etymologies connecting fuck with Da. fyge,
	OIc. fjuk 'snow storm', Greek puge 'the behind', MHD fochen 'to blow'.
		[Ref: J. de Vries, Nederlands Etym. Wdb.]

On the other hand I deem it quite likely that there is a connection
	with Lat. pugnus 'fist', pungo 'to prick, sting' (perf. pupugi),
	pugio 'dagger' so that the IE root would be *peug- .
-- 
      Andries Brouwer -- CWI, Amsterdam -- {philabs,decvax}!mcvax!aeb