Here's the first recorded instance of the F-word in English

[steve2470]

http://io9.com/heres-the-first-recorded-instance-of-the-f-word-in-eng-1519247071

And it's a monk expressing his displeasure at an abbot. In the margins of a guide to moral conduct. Because of course.

Technically, "fuck" appeared two times before this. In 1500, it was used in a satirical poem to describe some friars. In that case, nothing like "fuck" was actually written out. Instead, the word was hidden in a code. And in 1513, it appeared in a Scottish poem as "fukkit."

But for English's first use, we've got a dissatisfied 1528 monk. He's written "O D fuckin abbot." Melissa Mohr, author of Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing, says this "fuck" could be either literal or metaphorical:

It is difficult to know whether the annotator intended "fucking" to mean "having sex," as in "that guy is doing too much fucking for someone who is supposed to be celibate," or whether he used it as an intensifier, to convey his extreme dismay; if the latter, it anticipates the first recorded use by more than three hundred years. Either is possible, really—John Burton, the abbot in question, was a man of questionable monastic morals.

[Blue_Tires]

1. I though we got that word from the Dutch...

what is the earliest historical reference in that language?

[dipsydoodle]

13. Yes - Dutch apparently

.

[L0oniX]

2. Well that is going to take all the fun out of using that word. Thanks a lot!

[Bluenorthwest]

3. Hypocrisy by moralizing clerics is a tradition older than fuck.

Now we know.

[panader0]

4. Fornication Under the Crown of the King.

Maybe....

[Squinch]

5. Now I wonder if "fuckin' A" is short for "fuckin' Abbott"

[Neoma]

6. Thought the A stood for asshole.

[Squinch]

7. I always did too, but...

[Ghost in the Machine]

8. Back in my day, it was just slang for "ok", "right" or "alright"..... Examples:

Q: "Hey dude, are we going to see Van Halen next week?"
A: "Fuckin' A dude, you know that shit's right!!"

"I just scored a sweet 4 finger bag of some orange haired sinsemillia for $25 bucks, man!"
"Fuckin' A dude! Light some of that shit up and let's check it out!!

I'm giving my age away, but I remember when a 1/4 oz was a nickle bag, and a sandwich bag filled 4 fingers deep was $20 to $30, depending on quality.... and that was GOOD quality! Mexican dirt weed was $10 for a 4 finger bag. Of course, this was also Miami in 1981, right about the birth time of the "Cocaine Cowboy" era, but "Fuckin' A" had been used in my circle since we were 12-13 years old.

Peace,

Ghost

[zappaman]

11. Exactly.

Kinda interchangeable with "Hell yeah!"

[Ghost in the Machine]

15. Good to see you, zappaman! Yeah, it was slang that could mean about anything you wanted it to..

Hope all is well with you and yours...

Peace,

Ghost

[reddread]

9. much more likely explanation

[JaneyVee]

10. Fuckin Abbit is right.

[dipsydoodle]

12. Canute goes back somewhat further.

'

[LittleBlue]

14. Hehe

[dipsydoodle]

16. Non exhuastive list of various usages here

http://justin.justnet.com.au/rudestuff/uses-of-the-word-fuck.html

I like : Professional appraisal of mechanical failure "It's fucked."