The F Word
When was the "F word" first used? Reuters

When was the first "F bomb" dropped? The swearword has a lengthy history, but its exact origins are hard to pin down. Linguistic excavations have turned up mentions from 1513 and 1475, but a historian from Keele University believes he's found the oldest use of the word as it is used today. In court documents dating to Dec. 8, 1310, a court clerk mentions a "Roger Fuckebythenavele," and the rest may be history.

Paul Booth, honorary senior research fellow in history at Keele University, said he was examining records from the reign of Edward II when he discovered the unusual name, according to an interview with Vice. "This name simply popped out of the parchment. Roger had failed to answer at the county court, is being solemnly summoned ('exacted') and finally outlawed," Booth said.

Roger, as he was known, could have been the victim of an unfortunate surname, but Booth said the evidence against that lies with the court writer. Roger's last name is spelled differently in each of the three documents detailing his summoning to court and his outlaw status. That deliberate act eliminates the idea that the name was a joke or a placeholder, Booth argues.

The historian gives two explanations for the name. The first might have been given to Roger for his reputation as someone performed sexual intercourse incorrectly. "Either this refers to an inexperienced copulator, referring to someone trying to have sex with the navel, or it's a rather extravagant explanation for a dimwit -- someone so stupid they think this is the way to have sex," Booth elaborated in an interview with the Daily Mail. Booth plans to publish his findings in the journal Notes and Queries.

Notable experts of the "F word" are cautiously optimistic about Booth's discovery. Medievalist and linguist Kate Wiles, a contributing editor for History Today, previously discussed the word's origin dating back to 1475. Prior to that, the word was found in surnames and locations but was not used as it is today until a coded poem titled "Fleas, Flies and Friars." The Oxford English Dictionary cites William Dunbar's 1513 publication of "Poems" as the earliest instance of the word meaning "to have sexual intercourse."

Centuries from now, historians and journalists will discover the first usages of "OMG" or "on fleek."