Etymologically
Log in

cul

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 08:23. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ky/[1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): [t͡ʃy][1]

Forms

cul m (plural culs)[1] The Académie noted in 1694 and 1718 that the ⟨l⟩ was often not written; it is silent in the compounds too.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin cūlus (“backside, buttocks”), a popular word found in satirical graffiti and the Priapea, kept in all the Romance languages.[2][3][4][5][6] Rey mentions comparisons with Irish cúl (“back”) and Old High German “hōla” “hernia”, which are far off in sense, and a possible link with cunnus (see con).[3]

Cognate with Romanian cur, Italian culo, Spanish culo, Occitan cuol and Catalan cul.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Roman de Renart (about 1179), meaning the backside.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From the second half of the 17th century the word in its literal sense came to be felt as vulgar or taboo; many neutral phrases and derivatives show how late the ban arose.[3] Classical writers such as Molière and Voltaire still used it familiarly.[8] About 1250 it also named the bottom of a thing (le cul d'un noir chaudron), the sense in cul-de-sac (1307), cul-de-four (1555) and cul-de-lampe (1448).[2][3]

Phrases are many: avoir le cul pesant (13th century), faire le cul de plomb (1640), péter plus haut que son cul (1656), avoir le feu au cul (1536) and army slang tirer au cul (1886).[2][3] Of a person it meant a stupid, coarse man (1872).[2] Sexual senses are frequent, and du cul means pornography, avoir du cul is to be lucky.[3][9]

Timeline

  • c. 1179 – Roman de Renart.[2]
  • c. 1250 – The bottom of a cauldron.[2]
  • 1307 – Cul-de-sac.[3]
  • 1515 – Culotte.[4]
  • 1536 – Avoir le feu au cul.[2]
  • 1604 – Cul-de-jatte.[3]
  • 1656 – Péter plus haut que son cul.[2]
  • 1872 – A stupid, coarse man.[2]
  • 1886 – Tirer au cul.[2]
  • 1929 – Cucul.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (vulgar) The backside, arse, bum: tomber sur le cul, un coup de pied au cul.[7][10][1]
  2. (vulgar) The anus.[1][3]
  3. (familiar) The bottom or back of an object: le cul d'une bouteille, cul sec, bottoms up.[9][1]
  4. (vulgar) Sex: une histoire de cul.[9][1]
  5. (familiar) Luck: avoir du cul.[9][1]
  6. In phrases: être comme cul et chemise, to be inseparable, en rester sur le cul, to be flabbergasted.[10][7]

Word family

  • culasse
  • culée
  • culot
  • culotte
  • acculer
  • reculer
  • basculer
  • culbuter
  • cucul
  • cul-de-sac
  • cul-de-jatte
  • cul-de-lampe
  • cul-terreux

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1505b
  7. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)