cunt "Cunt" is a dirty word for vaginas and the women who have them. Which is most--but not all--of us. But seriously, few words in the English language pack as much punch into one syllable as does the word "cunt." Contained in that one syllable is a whole history of misogyny. Or so says Inga Muscio, who in her book "Cunt: A Declaration of Independence" traces the word back to its non-pejorative root. That's right, "cunt" wasn't always a dirty word. It was a neutral term for female genitalia. In fact, "cunt" wasn't considered obscene until the 17th Century. The earliest known reference in English is to a street frequented by prostitutes called "Gropecuntlane." Which sounds like a Monty Python joke, but it's not. (Sound it out.) In fact, according to some etymologists, "cunt" was not used as a term of abuse for a woman until the 20th century. Before that it only referred to a part of the body. According to critic Matthew Hunt, it was replaced like other four-letter words by polysyllabic ones, which were considered more respectable. He explains: "Thus, 'cunt' was replaced with 'vagina' and 'vulva', 'crap' gave way to 'excrement', and 'piss' was surpassed by 'urine'." According to etymologists, the modern word "cunt" does not relate to the Latin word cunnus, meaning pudenda. We're not sure how they're so sure of it, but they swear "cunt" comes from the Germanic root, kunton meaning female genitalia. Which is interesting if you consider the fact that the Germanic root is ku- meaning "hollow place," and the Latin root is keu- meaning "to cover, to conceal." These days the cunt is definitely considered a hole and not something that goes over or covers something else. Then again, in the end, a cunnus is a kunton, is a cunt.

Comments

[You're missing the point]

A lot of you seem to be completely missing that people use insults to DELIBERATELY make you angry. When you talk about how much you hate a word people make note and will call you that next time they are angry with you. Do you think that an angry person will simply use a less offensive word because you ask them to? No, quite the opposite. You give a word a lot of power when you keep going on about it.

It's not just on this site that people go on about the word. It's fairly common knowledge that if you really want to piss a woman off then cunt is the perfect word. It's BECAUSE they hate it above all else and commonly advertise this. It's not like angry people are going to use a less offensive word just because you ask them not to.

[katy]

There is some truth to almost all the postings about the word cunt. I does have a real impact , how many of you really want to be called a cunt? hmm not many. After all it is just a word, people are the twisted ones..

[Victoria]

Eh. I am probably one of the BIGGEST potty mouths you'll ever meet, but I don't like saying 'Cunt'. I dunno, to me, it's a much harsher word than 'fuck' or 'shit' and I don't much like saying it.

Whatever though.

[ILUVSLUTS]

first off, cunt is a degrading word ONLY if u use it to purposely hurt sum1!. so ladies stop flippin out bc u got to admit women r sensitive so lighten up! like greaves was saying if it is evolving sex then it's ok! sum girls like it like that. greaves email me cuz I agree with u, taskeetzy69@gmail.com

[Amber]

I think that people need to stop freaking out. I mean its a fuckin word. Cunt. Thats it. Just like every other word. It wouldnt be such a big deal if people didnt make it that way. All i have to say is calm down and stop throwing shit out of porportion.

[Greavesyyy]

yeahz i am a cunt! i have one and i lurvveee it when guys put their dick up their! its FUN! and thats wot sex iz, fun,not all that fucking expressing love stuff, FUN! i dont really care if a guy calls me that cuz atleast he knows i've got one and i'm not a lesbian and he knows any time he wonts it he can cum (gettit?!) to me. some people think i am stupid and have a low opinion of life and myself and i should wait to have sex but its fun and girls should give guys blow jobs even if they dont want to because then u get more offers ;)

[OMGIAMACAT]

I use that word to my friends alot lol, but not in a bad way, and they know it, we call each other cunts all the time, its how we say "love yah, too"

[baylee]

wow. this is horrible. just because a couple girls have fucked you over or something, you think its okay for you to say that stuff ? i am not a cunt. im not a vagina, i have one. to most girls, including myself, sex isnt about getting what we want. its about connecting with a person that you love on a deep and passionate level. if i used sex as a way to get things i would just feel dirty. its not right for you to say those things and categorize all girls as sluts and whores. if i used my vag to get what i wanted, i'd be a prostitute. you boys are just too simple minded to understand these things. i hope someday you learn how to stop being such an asshole, maybe then you can get a girl to stick with you long enough to actually have sex with you twice (:

[Kayla]

I'd rather be a cunt than a dickless piece of shit.

[Random Person 62]

ok if ur NOT a girl then FUCK OFF!!! we do NOT need you in here trying (yes i said trying you are not succesding) to make us feel like dirty sluts when we're not. And without women you would all die cuz who the fucking gonna take care of you? You fucking assholes think you can do EVERYTHING but you cant...and have fun being gay cuz without girls ur screwed into having only gay relationships

[Cocka-Doo!]

I don't see what is wrong with this word.... People think women are so much more sensitive and better than men, but they are not! Women use their pussy like a weapon to get men to spend money on them, and do what they want.... Women know EXACTLY what they are doing! That makes them cunts!

[Libba]

Fuck you all!

I hate women, they stink out of their cunts. Why do I have to get on the bus with women who don't wash their stinking cunts? They stink out the bus, every day... ALL WOMEN ARE CUNTS

ALL WOMEN should get fucked and raped.... right up the cunt!

[Jibby]

You're all cunts! Every one of you is a stinking rancid cunt! All women are just cunts that deserve to be disrespected like the cunts they are! What a PERFECT word it is... Cunt, cunt, cunt, cunt, cunt.

[JESS]

so, to me, this word is only offensive when used to be offensive. I say cunt when referring to my vagina, to my friends or my boyfriend. I'm all for reclaiming the word cunt. anyone interested, the passage about the word cunt is beautiful in Vagina Monologs, look it up baby!
LOVE YOUR GORGEOUS CUNTS GIRLS!

[Elle]

Britt....just because you use cunt doesn't necessarily mean that you have "extremely low self esteem."

I am a proud owner of a Cunt. And I tell my friends that I am going to cunt punch them when they do something stupid, or I call my sister a silly cunt in lieu of calling her a bitch. Again its only hurtful if you use it to be hurtful, and if that word is hurtful to you DON'T ASSIGN MEANING TO IT!!

[Liz]

I'M RECLAIMING CUNT!!!

[Jess]

My ex boy friend used cunt a lot.
It was actually funny too.
We'd be out somewhere & some one would piss him off so he'd scream "I'm gonna kick you in the cunt & wipe you off my shoe like bubble gum!"
It was so funny, it isn't that bad of a word, it's the usage.

[Britt]

It is the most derogatory word in the English language to be used on a woman. The worst part is, I heard a girl call someone else that. How low self esteem do you have to have to do that?! I used to think the only people who would use it are sexist pigs, but I was proven wrong. I now have a new theory. Only sexist pigs and people with EXTREMELY low self esteem would ever use that word.

[Lou]

I know the word is just another term for a vagina but I don't know, there is something about how people use it that is offensive. It has been given a second, possibly third, meaning as the worst word you can call somebody. I can deal with a lot of foul language but I can't stand that word. At least my bestmate politely refers to it as the "C WORD" which is a lot easier to deal with.

[dotti]

Cunt just means vagina i dont think people should use ot as an insult i mean say it, "you CUNT!" have someone say it to you i mean i get y someone made it an insult it sounds worse than slut!

[Liz]

haha i love the word cunt.. its just a word for vagina. people need to get over it!

[Rakia/Queen Nai]

I don't like this word for nothing. I know it's meaning now. Even before I explicitly knew it I still didn't use it. I am like someone who had commented earlier. Ewwwwwwwwww! Who the crap? Who uses that word? I better not ever get called that or I am going to snap.

[kenzie]

i absolutely hate the word cunt.
i get so mad if some1 calls me that. like i dated this guy named jake and he was jokin around and called me a cunt and i dumped him!

[Danyale]

god i hate the word "cunt" i cant stand when any one calls me that even if they are playing around. because it just nasty and i know im not so that.But there are so at volunteer high school in church hill tennessee. i wish that i could move back to arizona where there are not so many.

[marina]

""Cunt" is a dirty word for vaginas and the women who have them. Which is most--but not all--of us."
HAHAHAHAHA
am i the only one who finds that funny?