How did Cicero do shit?

[rothbard]

Let's not forget the TLL:

 

[Ybytyruna]

Iſta tamen, amice, niſi totus fallor, minus ſunt urbana verba. Cum Luſitanice loquaris, eo melius intelligis quid dicam, nam haud ſolemus apertiſſimis verbis dicere "vou cagar/cagarei" aut aliquid hujus generis (niſi nugandi cauſa), nonne? Latine ſunt quædam locutiones elegantiores ad talia conſilia exprimenda, e.g.: Spartian. Caracall. 6. a med. Ad requisita naturae [secedere]. h. e. ad ventrem, aut vesicam exonerandam et ita porro. Sunt etiam qui dicant, præſertim apud recentiores, "diſcedere ad/petere locum ſecretum". Utut eſt, hæ locutiones, quas tibi oſtendi, non tantummodo cacare ſignificant, ſed etiam mingere vel mejere/mejare (unde dicimus noſtra lingua "mijar"), utrumque conſilium continentes.

 

[Glabrigausapes]

The late Calvert Watkins supposed that Greek κακός malus was indeed a reflex our old friend the 'nursery word'. While I continue to have my doubts, Skrit also has an obviously onomatopoeic word for 'bad' (पाप pāpa, cf. G πόποι). And even today, speakers of (somewhat dated) modern English are accustomed to poo(h)-poo(h) an idea.

 

[Anbrutal Russicus]

btw, I can see that it was used in Vulgate, but also Plautus apparently used defaeco (1) so it shouldn't be too late Latin:

Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, dē-faeco

A closer inspection should reveal that neither the verb nor the noun faex have anything to do with the human digestive tract.

 

[Bestiola]

A closer inspection should reveal that neither the verb nor the noun faex have anything to do with the human digestive tract.

Well faeces is the sediment of the digestive system, metaphorically speaking Metaphor is a strong force of linguistic change.