The "F" word..........

[bererunner]

Hi there, the BBC recently broadcast the excellent series Rome. If the series was set around 400yrs to 800yrs AD, when was the "F" word first used, as in this television series the "F" was used quite a lot. Or was the word just used in the series to add some venom to a particular situation ?

Cheers, John.

[Postdog]

It's generally considered that this has a middle English origin, so it's unlikely to have been used - they probably had their own words.

No one knows for certain but I've read it could come from "for unlawful carnal knowledge" when people weren't married to "fornicate under command of the King" but these might be made up.

[Grunty]

The word has a Latin origin, but I wouldn't like to guess how long it has been in use in that context.

In the programme, the BBC was in its familiar role as a young child who keeps pushing the boundaries to see what it takes to shock the parents.

[rojash]

I don't suppose they spoke any English, but maybe the beeb thought you'd have difficulty in following it in Latin.

[Quizmonster]

The word has nothing whatever to do with acronyms such as the one suggested by Postdog above. These are, indeed, all "made up". The earliest-recorded direct written use of the f-word in English was in a poem by the Scottish writer, Dunbar, in 1503.
There were earlier coy 'hints' about the word hidden away in written material. One of those was a satirical poem that dealt with the Carmelite friars of Cambridge. A line in code reads, once it's �translated': "They are not in heaven because they f-word wives of Ely".
Some people claim it came from the German word 'ficken', meaning 'to strike'. However, the Oxford English Dictionary - the etymology 'bible' - can see no reason to suppose there ever was any such direct connection and simply claims the etymology is unknown.
It seems likely, however, that both words, the English and the German, may have had a common root in the ancient Germanic language. So, the roots of the word may have existed in Roman times, though it may never have been used as an oath, as we do today.

[jno]

none of the words used in Rome (the series) was used in Rome (the city) because, as rojash says, they spoke Latin then, not English. The job of the screenwriter in any historical drama is to come up with the modern equivalent of what would have been spoken then. It seems a fair bet that Roman soldiers would have sworn as much as modern soldiers do; I doubt that the BBC imagined this would shock anyone. I find it very unpleasant, but I'm just a wuss.

[jno]

having said that Grunty I don't suppose this will surprise you!

[Hans_Olo]

They may have used latin... but then I was always told that greeek was the language spoken in the roman empire, latin only being used for official documents