prick When it comes to insulting slang, look no further than the human body. Pussy, cunt, twat… these words can all be used as weapons when it comes to a verbal smack down. And while it's usually the female body that attracts the most slang terms, guys have contributed a few words of their own…which brings us to the word prick. Prick is mainly used to describe when someone is acting like a jerk, but it can also be used as a slang term for penis. The more PG definition of prick means, "to puncture or mark." So where did this term come from? And how did it get so many meanings? According to etymologists, the word prick originated in the Middle English (from prikke) or Old English (prica) and dates back to before the 12th century. Back then, it pretty much meant what it means today: to make a small hole by a pointy or sharp object. It was also used amongst farmers to describe a piece of sharpened wood that kept oxen in place, like a fence. Around the late 1500s, prick became synonymous with penis. Why? We can only guess that the penis was (and is) considered a sharp object that punctures or pierces the vagina/hymen. However, it wasn't until the 20th century that prick actually became an insult. In 1929, prick was defined as, "one in authority who is abusive or unjust" by the prestigious journal American Speech--in other words, someone who's a jerk. And just like today, the term was typically only applied to men. This is different than other body-inspired insults, like pussy, that can be applied to both men and women. Today, the term prick is still used for all of the meanings it has acquired throughout history. From the cult classic, Fast Times at Ridgemont High ("No brain little prick.") to the mobster movie Casino, the term crops up all across pop culture. Now, the question is: Have you ever called someone a prick?

Comments

[Terry]

I called my ex-boyfriend a prick last night! He was going on and on about how I'm a slut because I've been dating someone new. He shouldn't care, we haven't dated in a year. Loser.

[Whatsaname]

I call people pricks ALL the time.I dnt see whats wrong wit it...if some one can tell whats wrng wit it plse I would really like 2 knw.

[Mmmm....'ure a prick]

My ex is a genuine prick and I can't stand thinking about him anymore because of the nasty comments he's shot back at me..."would you like me inside you"? and my personal faveorite "I could just put my Dick inside you" HES SO DAMN selfish ,he needs a girlfriend that does him wrong!

[Dani]

Lol... i call everyone a prick. My older brother started calling me a prick so i went around calling everyona a prick

[MMm]

I just called my ex a prick on myspace (Hahahahahah) he deserved it he's a user!

[chanz]

hah i've called alot lads pricks...simply because they are.

[Marissa & Emma]

Marissa- haha well i never really used the word prick before to insult my guy friends but i guess now i will because they are! they always call me a slut and a whore and crap like that. so now if i need a good insult to tell theem off with ill use that. lmao.

Emma- i say that word like i drink water. i only would use it for guys but for gurls i will use it sumtimes when im trying to annoy them. they think i say it for "dramatic attention" just so we will get in fights and evry1 asks me about it but i only say it when im really mad.

[elisabeth]

well i had a ex and when i was talking to him he wanted to break up.so then i found out he was going with one of my best friends and i even kissed him and every thing i got so mad i never talked to him again and i still like him(after that he called me asking t get back but i said no y and he said because brittany broke up with me).and thats where i am right now trying to figure out if i should go out with him still

[Jo]

I called my ex a prick because he lied to me, and hurt me.He broke up with me about 7 times now.6th time was because I think anyways over this nasty hoe.But then I found out they were together for two days. He told me he left her for me because he can NEVER see himself with anybody but me. BUT he left me again! All he is, is a confused prick that I miss alot..

[Kirsten]

I called my ex boyfriend a prick Because he IS. He's a jerk. He tricked me into thinking that he was stuck in a relationship because his girlfriend at the time was suicidal, so we couldn't be together "officially". Then we hooked up secretly. He felt guilty, so he went and told her. She dumped him, and then five seconds later she had a new boyfriend. He asked me to go "steady". Then dumped me for her. Then he came back, then he left again, then he came back, and then I LEFT HIM.... I haven't talked to that asshole since.

[Bri]

i called my ex-boyfriend a prick because he cheated on me

[Cooper]

Yeah, I call guys pricks. Sometimes girls if I'm joking ;)

[mily]

I only call guys pricks.

richard cranium ftw =)

[Candace]

omg! i ddnt no that! im in &th grade now, and there are these perverted guys and they called me a prick!!! i called them one back anyways.

[Alesha]

i thought prick meant worthless ass...

[meera226]

I'm really smal for my age, like a 4rth of what evryone weighs. I'm NOT anerexic. I hate that stereotype so much. When people see I small person, the don't think its because you ahve a fast metobolism or because you're active they think cuz ur belimic or anerexic. Well I'm here to say that I'm neither both, and I have a high self confidence. I knwo I weigh and look the way I do because it runs in the family, and because I was born that way. My best friend even called my toes alien toes because they are small and bony, I don't care, but she di have to apoligize, she's still my bff, and my best pal!

[insane]

i'm a girl & a guy called me a dickhead once for reasons unknown... that prick!

[Mary]

The word "prick" meaning both penis and put down has been around at least 45 years, and probably more. I'm 62 and heard the word in my teens. In Australia we also use "dickhead" as a put down, usually applied to males. It originated from a real person called Richard Head. He was a player of Australian Rules Football. I don't know if he was stupid or annoying.

[Kalina]

That was a pretty interesting history of the word...though I always thought prick was an insult based on penis size- a prick is usually given by a needle-like object. And yes, I've called annoying guys pricks.

[Simone]

Some guy in my tech class last semester made a joke when he was faulting people for breaking his project. He looked over at me pointed in my face and said "It's your fault because you're a woman" I was completely disgusted that sexist jokes like this are still used. I just called him a prick and walked away.

by the way it wasn't me who broke it :P

[Mandy]

lmao. I call people pricks all the time & people are always like "who USES that word?" Like a few weeks ago our first year softball team played a JV team & beat them, well the paper didnt metnion that it was the other school JV team & he called it into the paper as a correction. Who is THAT anal? They couldnt just let us have that win? Pricks.

[magie]

I only called some one a prick when i was driving becuase he scared the crap out of me and it just came out no one heard but yeah thats all she wrote!

[lady]

yeah, i call people pricks, but the only ones that i call pricks are boys who telks nasty stuff to girls. esp. me. yeah, guys are real "pricks" all they think about is their "prick" and their brains starts and finishes at the end of thier "pricks" they are so "pricky"

[Deanna]

my uncle and i are always txting calling each other pricks, but its not a word i would usually call someone. I usually would use something like cunt, or bitch.. words used by most people.. only when needed might i add.

[Mariah]

Many boys R pricks! They R also very,very ,very horny an self absorbed too.