cunt English · revision 15319

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1230|origins=gem-pro *kunton}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kʌnt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|cunte]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) of Germanic origin,^(NODE 1998)^(Collins 2023) akin to [[non|kunta]], [[ofs|kunte]], [[dum|conte]] and [[gml|kunte]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from [[gem-pro|*kunton]], which is of uncertain origin.^(Etymonline) Proposed links include [[la|cuneus|t=wedge]] and roots meaning a hollow place or woman.^(Etymonline) The word is similar to [[la|cunnus]], itself of disputed origin.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The female genitals: the first known use is in an Oxford street name, Gropecuntlane, from about 1230,^(Etymonline) and the OED's first quotation is also from about 1230.^(OED 1989) It appears in Hendyng's ''Proverbs'' in the early 14th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Originally a frankly descriptive word in Middle English,^(Collins 2023) it has been taboo since the 15th century;^(GDoS) Grose (1788) printed it as ‘C--t’.^(GDoS) As a term of vulgar abuse for a person, especially a woman, it is from 1929 in the OED,^(OED 1989) and Etymonline dates the sense of a stupid or contemptible person to about 1920, probably adopted from French [[m|fr|con]] by soldiers in the First World War.^(Etymonline) In some British and Irish dialects it is now used almost as a bantering term, while in American use it is perceived as an intense slur against women.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1230 – Gropecuntlane, Oxford.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * early 14th century – in Hendyng's Proverbs.^(Etymonline)

+ * 15th century – taboo.^(GDoS)

+ * c. 1920 – a contemptible person.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(taboo)'' The female [[genitals]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(offensive)'' A woman considered sexually.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(taboo, derogatory)'' A mean, obnoxious or contemptible person.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cunnilingus]]

+ * [[quaint]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Collins notes that despite some relaxation of taboos, the word is still unacceptable to most people outside very limited contexts,^(Collins 2023) and the New Partridge calls it the most heavily tabooed word in English.^(Dalzell 2013)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}