Swear words

[Gibbo]

Where do swear words come from and who decides what is a swear word and what isn't?

[darth vader]

For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. Apparently it was the name given to sex out of wedlock in ye olde courts (dunno which century) and was abbreviated to F_U_C_King. Society dictates what is a swear word. Also time dictates this. For both statements see "gone with the wind" where the last line was "Frankly my dear i don't give a damn". There was so much hoohar at the time about saying "damn" - now it seems you can use the F word in every film bar Disney movies.

[darth vader]

The F word was derived from an acronym NOT an abbreviation, fool that i am

[sft42]

Sorry to bust yer bubble on that one Darth but it's an urban myth I'm afraid....snopes comes up trumphs again: http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/[email protected]

Please note the above link won't work due to the profanity filter on the site.....please change the @ to a u and it will give you the proper page.

[sft42]

Sorry I should have given the proper origin which some claim comes from a root with a few germanic langauges which all have a similar word...focka...ficken...focken...and fukka with all have roughly similar meanings of copulate and/or push, thrust, strike.

Others claim it comes from the Indo-European root word peuk = prick which is also the root of words like puncture and punctuate.

[tartanwiz]

I blame television.

[Ember]

Too much of it about.!!!@@@####

[spiff]

If you think about it,most swear words are based on bodily functions,sexual areas/practices, or parentage.