Cussed
/ˈkʌsɪd/noun
Bad-tempered, stubborn, or annoying; also used as a euphemistic form of a swear word.
Did you know?In American English, *cussed* developed as a softened, euphemistic form of *cursed*, showing how speakers can mask taboo language without fully escaping its power.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
cursian
“to curse; call down evil or misfortune upon someone”
Middle English
ME
cursen
“to curse, invoke harm, or swear at”
Early Modern English
English
cursed
“damned; under a curse; also, in colloquial speech, ill-tempered or troublesome”
18th–19th Century
American English
cussed
“a softened spoken form of cursed; later also meaning stubborn, perverse, or ill-tempered”
Modern English
English
cussed
“bad-tempered, obstinate, or irritating; sometimes a euphemistic swear form”
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