Following Salt-N-Pepa's hit single, this blog post is about sex.
Very generally, the 'sex' word has two meanings. First, and traditionally, sex has meant whether someone is male or female. Here sex is a biological construct and not a social construct like gender. Obviously I'm simplifying things - please see my BEING TRANS blog post for a more nuanced discussion of sex.
Second, over the last hundred years or so, sex also means sexual intercourse or at least a sexual act. This meaning took hold largely as a result of modern literature, particularly the works of D H Lawrence and H G Wells.
The etymological origins of the sex word are disputed. The Oxford English Dictionary argues that sex is derived from Old French word meaning genitals which spread into the English language at the start of the thirteenth century. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that sex is derived from the Latin word 'secus' which morphed into 'sexus', and that the 'sex word appeared in the English language in the late-fourteenth century. Google's 'AI Overview', powered by its AI tool Gemini (or is it an agent now?), asserts that sex is derived from the Latin word 'sexus' and the Old French and latterly Middle English word 'sexe' while acknowledging that the root of the word stems from 'sek' meaning to sever or to separate.
I do love a bit of etymology. I find the study of words, and their changing meanings, fascinating.
Now we're talking about sex, let's talk about fucking. The 'fuck' word has a long history. According to Dictionary.com, the word was first recorded in an English dictionary in 1598. Though always regarded as slang and sometimes even vulgar in certain circles, the 'fuck' word has history. The' fuck' word, according to Rebecca Deczynski on the maudern website, stems from the old German words 'ficken' or 'fucken' meaning to "strike or penetrate" (with Latin roots). The 'fuck' word was once banned from the Oxford English Dictionary for fuck's sake! The 1960 trial, R v Penguin Books Ltd (known as The Lady Chatterley Trial), was key in getting 'fuck' accepted in common parlance at least here in Britain. Penguin, the publishers of D H Lawrence's novel, Lady Chatterley's Lover, was prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act 1959. And fuck won! The book was first published in Florence in 1928 and then Paris in 1929, but it was only published in 1960 in Britain. No sex please, we're British!
Though Latin-based languages, such as French, Italian and Spanish, sound sexy, the German language is more earthy - Germans clearly mean business when it comes to sex!
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I love the story of Lady Chatterly and her lover. I love the salacious details and raw lustyness.
Hugs!!
Lady Chatterley's Lover is a very lusty book.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover is basically the original scandalous Netflix binge.
Netflix should adapt the book for a new series.
I've read Lady Chatterley's Lover. I don't recall the F-bomb being in it, but it has been several decades. I do know that Britain wouldn't publish it, not because of the language, and not because it had sex, but because the sex occurred across the class barrier.
As the for the F word ... I use it occasionally as an expletive. I tolerate it as a verb. I abhor it as a multi-purposeless adjective.
I too think class was a key issue in the banning of Lady Chatterley's Lover.
I don’t specifically remember the f word in Lady Chatterley, but I remember the C word being used…
@smartasswoman I don't remember that word, either. Well, I guess I'll have to read it again (though it really wasn't all that good the first time)
@superbjversion2 @smartasswoman I too don't recall the 'fuck' word in Lady Chatterley's Lover. That's AI for you - I guess the point being made was this book paved the way for a more permissive society.
@superbjversion2 @smartasswoman
I've just come across this passage, “We fucked a flame into being”, in D H Lawrence's Lady Chatterley’s Lover. It seems he did write fuck.
@spunkycumfun I didn't dispute the fuck; I just didn't remember the word. Obviously it didn't make an impact on me ... and book banners should think about that.
@superbjversion2 I didn't remember the word in the book either. And my source was an internet source, and you know how infallible the internet is!
In Spanish, "fuck" is "follar," which, interestingly enough, also starts with an "f"
I'll have to add the 'follar' word to my vocabulary!
COOL!
Sex is cool!
@spunkycumfun
Yes Sir!!!
Some interesting information about talking about sex and fucking for that matter my friend. Thanks for sharing such entertaining information with us.
I hope your Tuesday continues to treat you well.
I'm glad you liked the information.
Personally, I'd rather engage in sex, and/or to fuck, than spend time wondering about the etymology of the words. 😂
That's a fair point. But sex wasn't an option at the time of compiling this post.
Lovely bittersweet novel but what strange cover art for the anniversary edition.
As if they are two hippies in the 1970's having a go at tantric positions or something like that.
You're right. Having had a closer look at it, it's an odd choice of artwork for the book cover.