the c-word--its origins and meanings

[niyad]

with the comments about the woman that donnie douche called the c-word, I thought it was time, again, to refresh our memories about the origins and meanings of this powerful word--as well as the word vagina.

I have no problem with the c-word if it is used against me, personally, because I know the origin of the word. and it confuses the hell out of the people who use it to try to upset me that it does not.

C is for Cunt


While the world is only just coming to terms with saying the word vagina out loud, cunt remains a term that takes people’s breath away as they cringe at the sheer power it contains. Pushed underground, banished from conventional language, cunt has long since been appropriated by patriarchs and misogynists and used as an utterance that disgusts or insults in the worst possible way. But cunt has not always been the most taboo word around. IT WAS ORIGINALLY A TERM USED TO REVERE THE WISDOM OF WOMEN, IN PARTICULAR, THE WISDOM OF HER GENITALS. IN PRE-AGRARIAN DAYS, CUNTS WERE TACITLY CELEBRATED AS PURVEYORS OF PLEASURE AND KNOWLEDGE. (EMPHASIS MINE)


. . . . . .



When we look to the etymology of the word cunt, it has a much more celebratory and empowering origin than vagina. Etymologist Eric Partridge, writes in his book A Charm of Words that the the prefix “cu” is an expression of “quintessential femininity,” confirming “cunt” as truly a woman’s term. Tony Thorne, in his Dictionary of Contemporary Slang writes; “The synonymy between ‘cu’ and femininity was in place even before the development of written language: In the unwritten prehistoric Indo-European languages ‘cu’ or ‘koo’ was a word base expressing ‘feminine’, ‘fecund’ and associated notions.” Matthew Hunt, who draws from the above writers in his offerings on the history of cunt, says that the Proto-Indo-European “cu” is also cognate with other feminine/vaginal terms, such as the Hebrew “cus;” the Arabic “cush,” “kush,” and “khunt;” the Nostratic “kuni” (woman); and the Irish “cuint” (cunt). He goes on to say that the word cunt is inherent in many goddess’s names such as the Indian goddess Kunt and the energy force known as Kundalini.

. . . . .

Furthermore, while the word vagina implies a singular orifice for organ, cunt speaks of the textured nature of female genitals and includes the vulva, clitoris, labia and canal. Cunt speaks of the multidimensionality of women’s sexual pleasure–not just the sheath in which a man can thrust his erection. It denotes a sexuality that is rooted in pleasure and orgasm, not one denied orgasm by patriarchal doctrine.

I believe that the word cunt has to be dug up and given a good historical dusting so that the beauty, force and power of the word is reinstated into the feminine discourse. When women finally reclaim and speak this word, its full potential will be released and women will repossess their collective cunt-power and rise up against misogyny and patriarchy with the absolute intent of ending it.

http://msmagazine.com/blog/2012/11/27/c-is-for-cunt/

[kacekwl]

1. Can't Understand Normal Thinking. n/t

[Igel]

2. Except that much of the etymology for this is drivel.

Hard to know what to make of it, since that *ku- wasn't PIE. PIE was *gwo/e-, with that "w" being rounding (so that gw contrasted with g and, plausibly, a palatalized g').

Getting *kunto- back to Proto-Germanic requires a set of assumptions--taboo words and words that are metaphorical or sex-related are often like that. Getting from the PGrm to PIE ... That's even harder.

But psychological needs need be met.

[sheshe2]

3. Thank you, niyad.

[niyad]

7. you are most welcome.

[Nitram]

4. I don't think the ancient origin of the word is as important as the meaning and implications...

it now carries. Personally, the word carries two connotations to me, depending on the intent and context in which it is used. It can be a simple, if vulgar, reference to the female genitals, or it can be a highly pejorative attack on a woman (or other person). Sometimes it is simply the female equivalent of the word "cock." It seems to me calling a man a "dick" is an insult, but nowhere near the nastiness of using the c-word to insult someone.

[niyad]

5. on the other hand, there is the statement, "it doesn't matter what you are called,

it's what you answer to"

[Nitram]

9. I like that.

[niyad]

6. . . . .

[Joe Chi Minh]

8. I would take issue with that article,

insofar as most males do not think of its meaning as 'vagina', if/when uttering it, but use it solely for its emphatic force, which can even add a dimension of humour on that account (just slipped into the conversation, unheralded), in the context of non-family, mundane talk. Particularly, when applied to a kind of narcissistic big-shot. No names, no pack drill.

The Latin-name counterparts denoting our genitalia are more likely to make me recoil a tad, though I'm not saying that is necessarily healthy. Even if associated with our health !

[niyad]

10. perhaps you should read the piece more carefully. referred to both words, and their

meanings.

[Joe Chi Minh]

13. I know. My point is that only custom has given the word it's

force - which is admittedly extraordinary. While it is no longer used to convey its anatomical meaning, it now denotes a combination of negative qualities, notably idiocy and unpleasantness, contemptibleness.

[CTyankee]

11. John Updike used it several times in his book "Couples' and I was somewhat shocked when I first

read it back in the 60s. I re-reading it I am finding it not offensive at all. It is marvelously expressive of a female character's femininity and sexuality.

[niyad]

12. thank you for reminding me about that book.

[Mosby]

14. It's a slang word like "cabron"

why try to ameliorate it?