putain

French

Alternative forms

• p*tain (censored)

Etymology

Inherited from Old French putain, originally the oblique case of pute (“dirty woman”) formed with the suffix -ain, from Vulgar Latin pūtta, from Latin pūta (“girl”). Compare with salope, Italian puttana, Spanish puta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /py.tɛ̃/

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

• Audio (Toulouse):

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• Audio (Vosges):

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• Homophone: putains

Noun

putain f (plural putains)

1. (vulgar) whore, hooker

   Synonym: pute

2. (derogatory, vulgar, slang) bitch, cow (an unpleasant woman)

   Synonym: pute

Descendants

• →? English: poontang, pootang

Interjection

putain

1. (vulgar) fuck, fucking hell, bloody hell

   Synonyms: punaise, (euphemistic) purée

Derived terms

• fils de putain
• ptn
• putain de bordel de merde
• putain de merde
• putain de (noun)

 

Further reading

• “putain”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Norman

Etymology

From Old French putain.

Noun

putain f (plural putains)

1. (Jersey) whore

   Synonym: chèrch'rêsse

Old French

Etymology

From pute with the suffix -ain, -aine, or from Vulgar Latin pūtta/*pūttāna, from Latin pūta (“girl”).^[1] Compare Old Occitan putan(a). Latin putta (“prostitute”) is attested in the sixth century (Gregory of Tours). The change of meaning from "girl" to "prostitute" is due to euphemism, a process that is well known to other periods and languages.^[2]

Noun

putain oblique singular, f (oblique plural putains, nominative singular pute, nominative plural putains)

1. (vulgar) whore, prostitute, bitch

Descendants

• French: pute, putain
• → Welsh: putain
• → Friulian: putan, putane
• → Italian: puttana (see there for further descendants)
• → Aromanian: putanã
• → Piedmontese: putan-a

References

1. Pianigiani, Ottorino (1907) “puttana”, in Vocabolario etimologico della lingua italiana (in Italian), Rome: Albrighi & Segati
2. “puttana” in: Alberto Nocentini, Alessandro Parenti, “l'Etimologico — Vocabolario della lingua italiana”, Le Monnier, 2010, →ISBN

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

putain m

1. genitive singular of putan (“button, key”)

Mutation

Scottish Gaelic mutation
Radical	Lenition
putain	phutain
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Welsh

Etymology

From Old French putain, originally the oblique case of pute (“dirty woman”) formed with the suffix -ain, from Vulgar Latin putta, from Latin puta (“girl”). Cognate with French putain, Italian puttana.

Pronunciation

• (North Wales, standard, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈpɨ̞tai̯n/
  • (North Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈpɨ̞tɛn/
• (South Wales, standard) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪtai̯n/
  • (South Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪtɛn/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

putain f (plural puteiniaid)

1. prostitute, harlot, whore

   Synonyms: hŵr, dihiren

Derived terms

• puteinaidd (“whorish”)
• puteindy (“brothel”)
• puteinio (“to whore”)

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
putain	butain	mhutain	phutain
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.