"Cunt" is a dirty word for vaginas and the women who have them. Which is most--but not all--of us.
But seriously, few words in the English language pack as much punch into one syllable as does the word "cunt." Contained in that one syllable is a whole history of misogyny. Or so says Inga Muscio, who in her book "Cunt: A Declaration of Independence" traces the word back to its non-pejorative root. That's right, "cunt" wasn't always a dirty word. It was a neutral term for female genitalia.
In fact, "cunt" wasn't considered obscene until the 17th Century. The earliest known reference in English is to a street frequented by prostitutes called "Gropecuntlane." Which sounds like a Monty Python joke, but it's not. (Sound it out.) In fact, according to some etymologists, "cunt" was not used as a term of abuse for a woman until the 20th century. Before that it only referred to a part of the body.
According to critic Matthew Hunt, it was replaced like other four-letter words by polysyllabic ones, which were considered more respectable. He explains: "Thus, 'cunt' was replaced with 'vagina' and 'vulva', 'crap' gave way to 'excrement', and 'piss' was surpassed by 'urine'."
According to etymologists, the modern word "cunt" does not relate to the Latin word cunnus, meaning pudenda. We're not sure how they're so sure of it, but they swear "cunt" comes from the Germanic root, kunton meaning female genitalia. Which is interesting if you consider the fact that the Germanic root is ku- meaning "hollow place," and the Latin root is keu- meaning "to cover, to conceal." These days the cunt is definitely considered a hole and not something that goes over or covers something else. Then again, in the end, a cunnus is a kunton, is a cunt.
