cuss

Etymology

It is from English curse, representing a regional or colloquial pronunciation with the /r/ lost by assimilation.^[2][3][4][5] The same loss of r before s gave passel from parcel, bust from burst and ass from arse,^[6][7][8][9] and in some dialects it may be a regular sound change.^[8] The sense "fellow" is apparently reinforced by customer, in its slang sense of a person to deal with;^[2][5][7] Weekley, Partridge, Klein and Hoad treat it as short for customer,^{[10][11][12][13]} but Merriam-Webster's “Book of Word Histories” says that this theory seems to have no modern takers.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A curse or affliction, especially one sent by God: 1771, in the Court and City Magazine.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the noun "curse, oath" to 1771 and the transitive verb to 1768.^[4] Green's Dictionary of Slang quotes a pleasant Old Cuss, a jolly old fellow, from B. E.'s Dictionary of the Canting Crew of about 1698.^[14]

Semantic evolution

The best-known early use is American: a 1775 record calls a man a damn cuss, a contemptible person,^[2][6][8][7] and later the word, usually with an adjective, meant simply a person or creature of some kind, a queer cuss or an old cuss, often with affection.^[2][5][14] How this sense developed is not clear.^[6] Not to give a cuss, not to care at all, is recorded from 1795.^[2] As "an oath, a swear word" the noun appears in 1829,^[2] and in 1843 or 1848 in other sources.^[8][7][14] The verb was first an exclamation, cuss it!, cuss me! (1779), and I'll be cussed if… (1830);^[2][14] it meant to swear at someone from 1831, and to swear in general from 1838.^[2] Barnhart and Etymonline date the verb to 1815.^[8][7] To cuss out, to swear at or scold severely, is chiefly American and is recorded from 1863.^[2] Early uses have a markedly dialectal flavour, but modern American writing uses the word freely.^[6] In Yorkshire and Derbyshire dialect a different cuss meant a kiss.^[15]

Timeline

• c. 1698 – old cuss, a fellow.^[14]
• 1771 – noun, a curse or affliction.^[2][4]
• 1775 – a contemptible person; later, a person or creature of a stated kind.^[2][8]
• 1779 – verb, in cuss it!, cuss me!.^[2]
• 1795 – not to give a cuss.^[2]
• 1829 – an oath, a swear word.^[2]
• 1831 – verb, to swear at someone.^[2]
• 1838 – verb, to swear, use profane language.^[2]
• 1863 – cuss out, to swear at, rebuke harshly.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A curse or oath; a swearword.^[4][16][2]
2. A person or animal, especially an annoying or stubborn one; a fellow: a cranky old cuss.^[4][16][5]
3. not give a cuss: not to care in the least.^[2][14]

Verb

1. To use profane or obscene language; to swear.^[4][16][2]
2. To curse or swear at someone; often with out, to scold severely: The coach cussed out the referee.^[4][5][2]

Word family

• cusser
• tinker's cuss

Related words

• curse
• customer
• cussed
• cussedness
• cuss word

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Book of Word Histories, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
9. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
10. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
11. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
12. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
13. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
14. ^ a b c d e f Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
15. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
16. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins