Putang
Meaning
Putang, originally, refers to a woman’s genitals.
However, just like most words that are used to describe genitals, it turned into a profanity, and is more often than not used to insult others, or curse.
In combination with other words it can be a more precise profanity, such as “Putang Ina Mo”, defined as “Your mother is a whore!”, or “Putanginang buhay ko”, translated to “God, fuck my shitty life!”
Origin
“Putang” is a Tagalog profanity.
Tagalog is a language in the Philippines, and is spoken by a third of the population. Its standardized form is the main language in the Philippines.
Philippines was under Spanish rule for 333 years, from 1565 to 1898, explaining why the filipino languages have many similarities with Spanish.
This Spanish era explains why the Tagalog profanity “Putang” is in close relation to the Spanish profanity “Puta”, both vocally and in meaning.
Spread and Usage
“Putang” is mostly used by the filipino population, but in can be heard in English speaking countries as well.
This is mainly because it is the first word locals teach tourists in the Philippines, similar to how “fuck” is the first word English speaking people teach foreign tourists.
Besides tourism and filipino migration to first world countries, the profanity was spread to the rest of the world by the 1995 EDM hit “Putang Ina Mo” by 20 Fingers.
External References
- Urban Dictionary – Putang