Editing Cunt (section)

==Etymology==
{{more citations needed|section|date=January 2023}}
The etymology of ''cunt'' is a matter of debate,<ref>{{cite book |title=Language Most Foul |last=Wajnryb |first=Ruth |publisher=[[Allen & Unwin]] |year=2005 |location=Australia |isbn=978-1-74114-776-6}}</ref> but most sources consider the word to have derived from a [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] word ([[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] ''*kuntō'', [[word stem|stem]] ''*kuntōn-''), which appeared as ''{{lang|non|kunta}}'' in [[Old Norse]]. Scholars are uncertain of the origin of the Proto-Germanic form itself.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cunt |title=Cunt |access-date=6 March 2008 |work=Online Etymological Dictionary}}</ref> There are [[cognate]]s in most Germanic languages, most of which also have the same meaning as the English cunt, such as the Swedish, [[Faroese language|Faroese]] and [[Nynorsk]] ''{{lang|sv|kunta}}''; [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]] and [[Middle Low German]] ''{{lang|fy|kunte}}''; another Middle Low German ''{{lang|gml|kutte}}''; [[Middle High German]] ''{{lang|gmh|kotze}}'' (meaning "{{lang|en|[[prostitution|prostitute]]}}"); modern German ''{{lang|de|kott}}''; [[Middle Dutch]] ''{{lang|dum|conte}}''; modern Dutch words ''{{lang|nl|kut}}'' (same meaning) and ''{{lang|nl|kont}}'' ("butt", "arse"); and perhaps [[Old English]] ''{{lang|ang|cot}}''.

The [[etymology]] of the Proto-Germanic term is disputed. It may have arisen by [[Grimm's law]] operating on the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] [[root (linguistics)|root]] ''{{PIE|*gen/gon}}'' "{{lang|en|create, become}}" seen in [[gonads]], [[genital]], [[gamete]], [[genetics]], [[gene]], or the Proto-Indo-European root ''{{PIE|*gʷneh₂/guneh₂}}'' "{{lang|en|woman}}" ({{langx|el|italic=yes|gunê}}, seen in [[gynaecology]]). Similarly, its use in England likely evolved from the [[Latin]] word ''cunnus'' ("vulva"), or one of its derivatives French ''con'', Spanish ''coño'', and Portuguese ''cona''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Beirne |first=Piers |date=2020-09-01 |title=Animals, Women and Terms of Abuse: Towards a Cultural Etymology of Con(e)y, Cunny, Cunt and C*nt |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10612-019-09460-w |journal=Critical Criminology |language=en |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=327–349 |doi=10.1007/s10612-019-09460-w |issn=1572-9877}}</ref> Other Latin words related to ''[[Sexuality in ancient Rome#Female genitals|cunnus]]'' are ''{{lang|la|cuneus}}'' ("{{lang|en|wedge}}") and its derivative ''{{lang|la|cunēre}}'' ("{{lang|en|to fasten with a wedge}}", (figurative) "{{lang|en|to squeeze in}}"), leading to English words such as ''[[cuneiform]]'' ("{{lang|en|wedge-shaped}}"). In [[Middle English]], ''cunt'' appeared with many spellings, such as ''{{lang|enm|coynte}}'', ''{{lang|enm|cunte}}'' and ''{{lang|enm|queynte}}'', which did not always reflect the actual [[pronunciation]] of the word.

The word, in its modern meaning, is attested in Middle English. ''[[Proverbs of Hendyng]]'', a [[manuscript]] from some time before 1325, includes the advice:<ref>{{cite book |author=Unknown |title=An Old English Miscellany Containing a Bestiary, Kentish Sermons... |publisher=Adamant Media Corporation |year=2001 |location=Delaware |isbn=978-0-543-94116-9}}</ref>
{{blockquote|{{lang|enm|Ȝeue þi cunte to cunnig and craue affetir wedding.}}<br />(Give your cunt wisely and make [your] demands after the wedding.)}}