File 01The complete reference
fuck.
The most censored word in English, printed in full and taken seriously. Where it came from, what it does to the brain, how the law treats it, and when you would be wiser not to say it.
Every claim is sourced. Nothing is asterisked, unless you ask for it.
fuck /fʌk/ verb, noun, adjective, adverb, interjection, infix
- verb To have sexual intercourse (with). c. 1475
- verb To ruin, damage, cheat or treat badly: the printer's fucked.
- verb, with off / up / about / with To go away; to fail; to waste time; to meddle.
- noun An act of intercourse; a contemptible person; the smallest unit of concern: I don't give a fuck.
- adjective / adverb (fucking) An intensifier with no literal meaning. 1528
- interjection Pain, anger, surprise, delight.
Why this site is different
Uncut
The word printed in full, the way people actually use it. No asterisks, no "the F-word", no winking.
Sourced
Dictionary-grade: every date and claim traced to the OED, Sheidlower, peer-reviewed research or the statute book.
Useful
The only reference that tells you whether to say it. Pick the room and the listener, and get a verdict with reasons.
Safe for work, on demand
Reading at your desk? Press Censor at the top of any page and every instance is blacked out.
Earliest solid record: a man named Roger Fuckebythenavele in a Chester court roll.
The year the Oxford English Dictionary finally printed the entry, in a supplement.
Roughly the share of everyday spoken words that are swear words, by Timothy Jay's estimate.
Number of kings who ever licensed fornication by consent. The acronym story is invented.
Can I say it here?
Tell it where you are, who can hear and how you would use it. It weighs the room, the listener, the law and the research, and stamps a verdict from Passed to Banned.
Get a verdictFrom the evidence room
Photographs & documents
Exhibit A
The first photographed middle finger, 1886
Exhibit B
The birth of the asterisk, 1785
Exhibit C
Expletive deleted, 1974
Exhibit D
Uncut at last, 1959–60
Definition
Every sense, every part of speech, inflections and pronunciation. The dictionary entry.
No. 02History
Germanic roots, a coded monk's poem, and two hundred years of dictionaries pretending it didn't exist.
No. 03A to Z
Motherfucker to zero fucks: a glossary of every compound, phrase and abbreviation built on the word.
No. 04Grammar
Verb, noun, adjective, adverb, interjection and, uniquely, infix.
No. 05Around the world
Foutre, joder, ficken, kurwa, and how English fuck became a global loanword.
No. 06Culture
Film, TV, music, books, comedy, politics, the press, sport, war and the internet.
No. 07Why we use it
Pain relief, venting, bonding and honesty. What the neuroscience and psychology actually say.
No. 08Why we shouldn't
Dilution, audience, children, work and the law. The honest case for keeping it in reserve.
No. 09The law
Is swearing illegal in the UK? Obscenity trials, the Public Order Act, Ofcom and trademarks.
No. 10Statistics
Who swears most, how often, what Ofcom found and which films hold the records.
No. 11FAQ
Is it an acronym? Anglo-Saxon? Who said it first on TV? Short answers, with links to the long ones.
No. 12Quiz
Fifteen questions. No prizes. Bragging rights only.