English word origin

Etymology of cuss

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

A curse. · A curse word. · Fellow, person.

verb

To use cursing, to use bad language, to speak profanely.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

An American English variant of curse; for a similar phonetic development, compare ass (“buttocks”), from arse, in which the r was originally pronounced (as in curse). Etymology 1, noun sense 3 (“fellow, person”) is from the replacement of a derogatory or affectionate curse word like bitch in son of a bitch with the word cuss, after etymology 1, noun sense 2 (“curse word”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "senseno",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fellow, person",
        "t": "fellow, person",
        "cap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology 1, noun sense 3 (“fellow, person”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "senseno",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "curse word",
        "t": "curse word"
      },
      "expansion": "etymology 1, noun sense 2 (“curse word”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "curse",
      "curse#English"
    ],
    [
      "ass",
      "ass#English"
    ],
    [
      "arse",
      "arse#English"
    ],
    [
      "curse",
      "curse#English"
    ],
    [
      "curse word",
      "curse word"
    ],
    [
      "bitch",
      "bitch#English"
    ],
    [
      "son of a bitch",
      "son of a bitch#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A curse.",
        "A curse word.",
        "Fellow, person."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "colloquial"
      ],
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    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To use cursing, to use bad language, to speak profanely."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "colloquial"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A fellow, person.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of customer.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "customer"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of customer"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "customer",
      "customer#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A fellow, person."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "colloquial",
        "dated"
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for cuss →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-Y3Vzcw