Hi this is Tutor Nick P and this is Word Origins 139. The word origin today is
Fanny and there's a big difference between American English and British
English. So we're going to look at that in this video. So let's take a look at the
note. It is ironic that this word almost has you know, opposite meanings in both
countries. Okay. In the US, the word fanny is often used as a cute, humorous word to
refer to ones buttocks or one's butt. In the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and
South Africa, it is an offensive term or an offensive word to mean a woman's vagina.
So you know, her sexual area down there in the front. Basically. In the UK, to get
some fanny could mean to have sexual intercourse with a woman. So they do use
it that way. The closest u.s. equivalent would probably be a booty call. Because
we sometimes use the word booty to also mean your butt. But this is you know, this
could be with anybody. If you have a booty call you know, it could be you know
a man could have a booty call with a woman or a woman could have a booty call
with a man. That part doesn't matter. All Right. Let's continue.
Some believe the British meaning may have originated from a John Cleland novel
called either ... it's either referred to as Fanny Hill which is the character's name,
or " Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure" in 1748. So memoirs, if somebody writes their
memoirs, they talk about their life story. So I mean she probably talked
about her sexual encounters I think in this book. The female main character was
named Fanny which was a diminutive form. You know, like a like a kids form. Like if
somebody's named John , Johnny might be a diminutive form. Or if they're named Joe
Joey. So the Fanny is a diminutive form of
the female version of the Frances. Okay. Okay, let's continue. The main
character Fanny. All right. good The earliest writing of the British word
Fanny meaning vagina appeared in the 1830's. So it did appear a bit later. It did
appear about 50 or 60 years later. Sometimes it happens like that. Sometimes when you
get ... I know some Shakespeare expressions that we use in English because they were
studied or they were reread so many times , sometimes the phrase didn't work
its way into the language until 50 years a hundred years even sometimes several
hundred years after. Because people read them over and then they started using it.
It worked its way into the language. So it is possible it came from that or at
least that's what they think is the best possibility. Let's continue. The use of
fanny to mean butt first appeared around World War one. So the American version
meaning butt appeared after World War one. Around World War one that's when they started
using the word fanny to mean butt. In the US. Okay. Good. The first time I heard of the
British meaning was actually from my father. Even though I had been... I've been
to England before I don't really remember If I heard the word fanny
much used much in England When I was there, but I remember my father telling
this story when he was in the Navy. In World War two he was stationed in
England. Okay. For a while, for a period of time. He said him and I think you know,
another sailor or a couple other sailors, they were picking up some British girls
and he was going to the house to pick them up at their home. I think my father
said yeah, shake your fanny. You know we're going to be late. In American English,
of course if you say shake your fanny it's very equivalent it's equivalent to
like shake your butt. We sometimes say that' to just mean hurry up. It's a cute way of saying
hurry up. So if you shake your butt, it means you're moving faster. You're
getting going. So my father said shake your fanny. But he said this in front
of the girls parents and of course you know in
England your fanny obviously meant the opposite. It meant the vagina. So just
like we said here. He said that the , the woman ... the expression of a look on
their face pretty much said it all. And that's when he learned you know, what
what actually fanny meant. So be careful. My father actually had to learn the hard
way. So if you go to England. You know if you're American you go to England be
careful how you use the word fanny because it actually has the opposite
meaning. Okay. Good and of course. If you're British and you're in the States
and you hear some guy or somebody say fanny obviously he's not talking about
the vagina. He's talking about somebody's butt. Okay
All right. Anyway.Let's continue. All right. So yeah. So we just got three quick
examples here. This first one. You may hear it used like this.
Get off your fanny and do some work. Yes. Sometimes people say they're like you
know get off your butt and do some work. Get off your fanny and do some work Like
don't be lazy. Get up. She fell on her fanny Yeah. Again it's kind of a cute way
of saying butt. You know, you fell on your fanny.
and of course we'll just say this one for the English one. In England, fanny is
a vulgar term for female genitals. So, so be careful how you use that. Anyway, I
hope you got it. I hope it was informative. I hope it was very clear. Thank you
for your time. Bye-bye.