cuss

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verb

1. To invoke evil or injury upon: anathematize, curse, damn, imprecate. Archaic execrate, maledict. See words.
2. To use profane or obscene language: blaspheme, curse, damn, swear. See decent/indecent, sacred/profane, words.

noun

A profane or obscene term: blasphemy, curse, epithet, expletive, oath, swearword. See decent/indecent, sacred/profane, words.

Origin: 1815

By the early nineteenth century, we knew how to cuss. In an 1815 book called A Yankee in England, we find a definition: "Cuss, curse."

As the definition indicates, cuss is nothing more than a variation of the spelling and pronunciation of curse. To cuss, the verb, comes from the identical noun cuss, a form that is attested as early as 1775 in the Narragansett Historical Register: "A man that...was noted for a damn cuss." Like Bust (1764) from burst, it reflects the r-dropping pronunciation of New England and the South, as heard by others who pronounced the r. But somehow the cussing was so emphatic it took on a life of its own.

Or perhaps it was a euphemism, available to those who did not want to utter a word that was as shocking as curse. Evidence for this is in Mark Twain's use of the phrase cuss word in his 1872 book Roughing It: "He didn't give a continental for anybody. Beg your pardon, friend, for coming so near saying a cuss-word."

For whatever reason, Twain found the word congenial. He used it in Life on the Mississippi (1883): "He got mad and jumped up and begun to cuss the crowd, and said he could lam any thief in the lot." And in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884): "He...cussed me for putting on frills and trying to be better than him."

Cussing continues nowadays. It can be therapy, as in a 1976 article "Failure Is a Word I Don't Accept" from the Harvard Business Review: "How do you deal with anger? If I'm mad at somebody, I just go in a room, close the door, and cuss him or her out where nobody can hear me. Sometimes I write a letter that I don't mail. I've done a lot of that."

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For a list of words related to cuss, see:

• Expressions of Feeling - cuss: Informal. curse
• Behavior or Personality
• Blame, Censure, Ridicule, and Contempt - cuss: (vb) Informal. curse

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See words rhyming with "cuss."

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - forbandelse, kraftudtryk, utålelig person
v. tr. - forbande
v. intr. - bande

Nederlands (Dutch)
vloek(en), uitschelden, snuiter

Français (French)
n. - juron, malédiction, individu, type
v. tr. - blasphémer, maudire
v. intr. - blasphémer, maudire

Deutsch (German)
v. - (ver)fluchen
n. - Fluch

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - (καθομ.) βλαστημώ, βρίζω
n. - βλαστήμια, κατάρα, μάγκας, τύπος

Italiano (Italian)
bestemmiare, imprecare, dire parolacce, imprecazione, parolaccia

Português (Portuguese)
v. - amaldiçoar
n. - maldição (f) (coloq.)

Русский (Russian)
ругаться, ругательство

Español (Spanish)
n. - palabrota, blasfemia, maldición
v. tr. - blasfemar, jurar, maldecir
v. intr. - decir blasfemias, echar maldiciones , jurársela a

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - förbanna
n. - förbannelse, svordom, individ

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
诅咒, 家伙, 坏话, 乱骂, 咒, 咒骂

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 詛咒, 傢伙, 壞話
v. tr. - 亂罵, 咒
v. intr. - 詛咒, 咒罵

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 저주, 녀석
v. tr. - 저주하다, 악담하다
v. intr. - 저주하다, 악담하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - のろい, やつ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يلعن, شتم (الاسم) شتيمه, شخص‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮קללה, טיפוס, ברנש, יצור, שבועה‬
v. tr. - ‮קילל‬
v. intr. - ‮קילל‬

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