cul French · revision 16530

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1179, Roman de Renart|origins=la cūlus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ky/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Louisiana): [t͡ʃy]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cul''' ''m'' (plural culs)^(Wiktionary)

+ The Académie noted in 1694 and 1718 that the ⟨l⟩ was often not written; it is silent in the compounds too.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|cūlus|t=backside, buttocks]], a popular word found in satirical graffiti and the Priapea, kept in all the Romance languages.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|2, 1505b) Rey mentions comparisons with [[ga|cúl|t=back]] and Old High German “hōla” “hernia”, which are far off in sense, and a possible link with [[m|la|cunnus]] (see [[con]]).^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|cur]], [[it|culo]], [[es|culo]], [[oc|cuol]] and [[ca|cul]].^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in the ''Roman de Renart'' (about 1179), meaning the backside.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==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.^(DHLF 1992) Classical writers such as Molière and Voltaire still used it familiarly.^(GLLF 1989) 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).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ 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).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Of a person it meant a stupid, coarse man (1872).^(TLFi) Sexual senses are frequent, and ''du cul'' means pornography, ''avoir du cul'' is to be lucky.^(DHLF 1992)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1179 – ''Roman de Renart''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1250 – The bottom of a cauldron.^(TLFi)

+ * 1307 – ''Cul-de-sac''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1515 – ''Culotte''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1536 – ''Avoir le feu au cul''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1604 – ''Cul-de-jatte''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1656 – ''Péter plus haut que son cul''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1872 – A stupid, coarse man.^(TLFi)

+ * 1886 – ''Tirer au cul''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1929 – ''Cucul''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(vulgar)'' The backside, [[m|en|arse]], [[m|en|bum]]: ''tomber sur le cul'', ''un coup de pied au cul''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(vulgar)'' The anus.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(familiar)'' The bottom or back of an object: ''le cul d'une bouteille'', ''cul sec'', bottoms up.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(vulgar)'' Sex: ''une histoire de cul''.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(familiar)'' Luck: ''avoir du cul''.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+ # In phrases: ''être comme cul et chemise'', to be inseparable, ''en rester sur le cul'', to be flabbergasted.^(Le Robert)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[culasse]]

+ * [[culée]]

+ * [[culot]]

+ * [[culotte]]

+ * [[acculer]]

+ * [[reculer]]

+ * [[basculer]]

+ * [[culbuter]]

+ * [[cucul]]

+ * [[cul-de-sac]]

+ * [[cul-de-jatte]]

+ * [[cul-de-lampe]]

+ * [[cul-terreux]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[con]]

+ * [[la|cūlus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}