cunt

English Online Dictionary. What means cunt‎? What does cunt mean?

English

Alternative forms

• c**t, c*nt (censored)
• c-word, C-bomb (euphemistic)

Etymology

From Middle English cunte, queynt, queynte, from Old English *cunte, from Proto-Germanic *kuntǭ. Cognate with West Frisian kunte, Middle Dutch conte (Dutch kont (“butt”)), dialectal Swedish kunta, dialectal Danish kunte, and Icelandic kunta. A relationship to Latin cunnus has not been conclusively shown. Lexicographer Partridge suggests cuneus (“a wedge”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: kŭnt, IPA^(key): /kʌnt/
• Rhymes: -ʌnt
• Hyphenation: cunt

Noun

cunt (countable and uncountable, plural cunts)

1. (vulgar, countable) The female genitalia, especially the vulva.
2. (vulgar, offensive, originally synecdochically, countable) An extremely unpleasant or objectionable person (in US, especially a woman; in Commonwealth more usually a man).

   Near-synonyms: bitch; see also Thesaurus:jerk
3. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, countable, vulgar) An objectionable object or item.

4. (Ireland, UK, Commonwealth, countable, vulgar) An unpleasant or difficult experience or incident.
5. (vulgar, synecdochically, countable and uncountable) A woman or any receptive sexual partner, as a source of potential or actual sexual gratification.

6. (Ireland, UK, Commonwealth, vulgar, positive, countable; with words funny, good) A person (mostly between male friends); compare bastard.
7. (transgender slang) The anus of a trans woman.
8. (transgender slang, usually in the plural) The inguinal canals of a trans woman.

Usage notes

• Writing in 1961, Partridge notes the term had been avoided "in written and polite spoken English" since the 15th century and had been considered obscene since around 1700. Partridge further notes the term's absence from the 1932 Universal Dictionary of English and the 1933 Shorter Oxford Dictionary, and he himself bowdlerizes it as c*nt.
• In many English-speaking countries, "cunt" is considered to be the most offensive swear word: a study by several British broadcasting organizations found that it was the most offensive swear word, with 96% classing it as severe; a similar study by New Zealand's Broadcasting Standards Authority found that it was the most offensive word there, offending 74% of New Zealanders.
• In the US, where cunt is most often used as an insult towards women, the word is also likely to be taken as a misogynistic slur and its use can cause controversy even in contexts where vulgar language is otherwise acceptable. In the US in the 21st century the n-word and the c-word are widely ranked as the most offensive words in the language. In Commonwealth countries, the word – although still considered offensive – is not generally interpreted as misogynistic or indicating specific hatred towards women.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:cunt.

Synonyms

• (female genitalia): See Thesaurus:vagina and vulva
• (unpleasant person): See Thesaurus:jerk and idiot

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

cunt (third-person singular simple present cunts, present participle cunting, simple past and past participle cunted)

1. (generally vulgar) To use the word "cunt".
2. (vulgar) To attack someone.
3. (vulgar) To ruin something; to fuck up.
4. (vulgar) To betray someone.
5. (vulgar) To take something into one's vulva or vagina.

Adjective

cunt (not comparable)

1. (LGBTQ slang) Amazing or very good.
   • 2022 December 29, PeachyPlumz (on reddit), in "Symmetra is a ‘gay icon’?", Reddit:

     Look at her like how can you not say cunt[,] she's cunt

   • 2023 May 24, cutehammie (on reddit), in "Trans ally Azealia", r/popheadscirclejerk, Reddit:

     she's so CUNT ... like... how can i not say cunt???

References

• Eric Partridge (1961) A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English […], 5th edition, New York: Macmillan
• Fielding, Lucie (2021) Trans Sex: Clinical Approaches to Trans Sexualities and Erotic Embodiments, New York: Routledge, →ISBN, page 96

Anagrams

• Cnut, unct

Middle English

Noun

cunt

1. Alternative form of cunte

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *kunþaz.

Adjective

cunt

1. known, familiar

Inflection

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

• cundo

Descendants

• Middle Dutch: cont
  • Dutch: kond

Further reading

• “kunt”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012