Cuss
/kʌs/noun
A mild slang word for a person, especially an odd, troublesome, or unpleasant one; also used as a euphemism for a swear word or curse.
Did you know?In American English, *cuss* developed as a euphemistic alteration of *curse*, showing how people often softened forbidden words by changing their sound rather than their meaning.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kers-
“to run”
Latin
Latin
currere
“to run”
Latin
Latin
curs-
“run; course, a running”
Old French
Old French
cours
“a run, course”
Middle English
English
curse
“a solemn utterance invoking harm; a ban or malediction”
18th–19th Century
English
cuss
“a softened colloquial form of curse; later, a troublesome person”