Fart

[pjm007]

Where did the word 'Fart' originate from ?

Thanks in advance.

[Octavius]

The word "fart" in the OED and the earliest mention of the word is in the 1200's. it's Old Enlgish translation is feortan. in Old High German it was ferzan apparantly even dated back that far the word still meant to break wind but it did not have to rude connotations of today.

According to Webster:
The word fart is from Middle English ferten, farten; akin to Old High German ferzan to break wind, Old Norse freta, Greek perdesthai, Sanskrit pardate he breaks wind. and dates back to the 13th Century.

[Octavius]

Furthermore:

This is not an accepted medical word for passing gas. Excess gas in the intestinal is medically termed "flatulence." (But what is excess gas is difficult to define since symptom-free individuals have recorded approximately 14 passages of gas per 24 hours!)

The OED, in its inimitable way, notes that the word "fart" is "not in decent use." The OED defines the transitive verb form of fart: "To send forth as wind from the anus 1632." The word comes from the Old English "feortan" (meaning "to break wind"). Although the word "fart" is "not in decent use," it was used by the likes of the great English poet Geoffrey Chaucer.

[IndieSinger]

In A Pickle - I think you're confusing your languages. Fahrt is the German word for 'journey' (the Dutch word is usually reis.

I personally wouldn't have thought there is a connection between the Old High German verb ferzan and the modern verb associated with the modern noun Fahrt, which is fahren. Originally, the farting-verbs (!) specifically (and uncrudley) meant "a breaking of wind".

[Peter Pedant]

In a pickle - dont forget the Scheepvaart agricultural museum ! also in Amsterdam.

OK its not the Sheep-fart, but ship building museum.

But there are cognates, weg gave way (ha!) to way and vecht turned into fight but that does not mean the words mean the same. Esp the prepositions. There's word for two different roots becoming the same word - convergence I think - such as dag and dies becoming day in English.

Didnt German go through two grimms changes, Dutch one and English the other one? Exempliefied by Schiff, scheep, ship

[corganiser]

Octavius

Fart appears to be used as both a verb and a noun at different terms. Flatulence clearly describes the condition, but wouldn't appear to be a verb.

My question is whether or not there is a single word that can decently be used as a verb or whether you have to build up someting like - to break wind.

[Britannia]

'Guff' may be used in this context as both verb and noun, but it's debatable whether any single word can be used decently (unless it's a secret family word) ... they all trigger sniggers amongst my boys!

'Pop-off' is our usual choice in public.

My grandmother was German and couldn't speak English. My father couldn't speak German. One day he asked my mother why Oma wished him a 'Good Fart' every morning when he left for work! She had to explain that 'Guten fahrt' meant 'Have a good journey!'

[Jadies Mum]

On Tyneside/Teesside a fart is known as a 'pump', don't know why!