Prick (slang)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Etymology | From the Middle English prikke, which originates in the Old English prica |
|---|---|
| Definition | |
| In a literal sense | A penis |
| Figuratively | A despicable or contemptible individual |
Prick is a vulgar word for 'penis' as well as a pejorative term used to refer to a despicable or contemptible individual. It is generally considered offensive, though in the past it has been used as a term of endearment. Its history as a euphemism for 'penis' goes back to the 1500s and has been used in wordplay by Shakespeare and other writers who have combined the vulgarism with the standard meaning of the noun, which means the act of piercing or puncturing. Most linguists believe it has been used as a direct insult only since 1929.
Modern dictionaries agree on prick as a euphemism for 'penis'. But they offer some slight variations in the use of prick as an insult. The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang says a prick is "a despicable man, a fool, used as a general term of offence or contempt. Often as an abusive form of address, always of a male or an inanimate object."[1] Similarly the Oxford Dictionary of English says "a stupid or contemptible man".[2] Merriam Webster offers "a spiteful or contemptible man often having some authority".[3]
Peter Silverton notes that the way a person calls another person a prick, which can range from disdain to anger, will help to define its meaning: "Said lightly, it's a jerk or a bumbler. Said with a harsher, punchier intonation it can mean something far nastier. Say, 'Don't be such a prick' vs. 'You prick!'"[4]
In modern times, writes Tony Thorne, "in polite company it is the least acceptable of the many terms for the male member (cock, tool, etc.), it is nevertheless commonly used, together with dick, by women in preference to those alternatives".[5]
History
Middle Ages to 18th century
The word comes from the Middle English prikke, which originates in the Old English prica 'point, puncture, particle, small portion of space or time'. The meaning of prick as 'a pointed weapon' or 'dagger' is first noted in the 1550s.[6] Prick as a verb for sexual intercourse can be seen as early as the 14th century, in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.[7] The Oxford English Dictionary records the first use of the word prick as 'penis' in 1592, although it was probably used in the spoken language for some time before. It was "probably coined with the image of a thorn in mind from the shape and image of penetration evoked", says Thorne.[5] The earliest use of the noun prick as 'penis' is observed in the works of Shakespeare, who uses it playfully several times as a double entendre with the non-sexual meaning of prick, i.e., 'the act of puncturing', as in the following examples:[8]
He that sweetest rose will find / must find love's prick and Rosalinde.
— Touchstone, in As You Like It, act III, scene II
The bawdy hand of the dial is now upon the prick of noon.
— Mercutio, in Romeo and Juliet, act II, scene IV
In the 16th and 17th centuries, "my prick" was used as a term of endearment by "immodest maids" for their boyfriends.[6]
The word is listed in Francis Grose's A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue as "prick: the virile member" in 1788.[9]
A popular saying during the 18th century was: "May your prick and your purse never fail you."[10]
19th to 20th centuries
In the Victorian era, the slang form of prick was hidden away from most "respectable" literature.[1] Even earlier, an 1807 edition of The Family Shakespeare eliminated the "prick" verse from As You Like It, and continued without it in subsequent editions. In 1861, at least one version of Shakespeare had replaced prick with thorn.[8] However, prick continued to appear in Victorian pornography, such as Walter's My Secret Life, who used it 253 times,[7] as well as in the works of Scottish poet Robert Burns, who used it with "vulgar good humour".[1]
Prick started to take on the sense of 'fool' or 'contemptible person' in the 19th century, usually preceded by silly. "The semantic association between stupidity and terms for the penis is noticeably strong", notes Hughes.[8] Silverton observes that "whereas the French place idiocy with the vagina, the Yiddish and English place it with the penis, with shmuck and prick."[11]
In Farmer and Henley's A Dictionary of Slang and Colloquial English in 1905, the two definitions of prick are "a term of endearment (1540)", or "a pimple".[12]
Most linguists cite 1929 in the United States as the time and place when prick began to be used as a direct insult, as in "You prick!" or "What a prick!" This was also the time when similar sexual euphemisms, like cunt (1928) and twat (1929), became direct insults. Dick's history is reversed: Dick as 'fool' has been recorded since the 16th century but as 'penis' only since about 1888.[8] In The Life of Slang, Coleman notes the use of prick as 'a stupid or contemptible person' as early as 1882.[13]
When used with the word silly, however, as in "Silly prick!", the word has continued to be viewed as fairly inoffensive.[1]