Bitch

The word bitch — originally used for the female members of the canid species, especially dogs — is more often employed in a figurative sense as an insult for a malicious, spiteful, domineering, intrusive, and/or unpleasant woman (or gay male). The former specialised meaning is retained and in widespread use among dog aficionados and breeders, but derogatory usage has become so prevalent in the last century that the term has acquired a profane connotation and is often considered unacceptable by broadcasting regulations and Standards & Practices manuals.

Variants: "Bitchy," "bitchin'", "to bitch", "beeotch", and "beeeeeatch"

The adjectives bitchy and bitchin' and the verb to bitch evolved from the noun bitch. All of these derivative forms tend to be less offensive than the noun form, especially where their meaning departs entirely from the insulting meaning of "bitch."

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From this usage of bitch as "complain", the noun bitch-fest evolved, to indicate a group people complaining about something together. Used in its verb form, to bitch is significantly less offensive than the noun bitch. It is not uncommon, for example, for someone to say that they are "bitching" about something, whereas it would be highly uncommon for someone to call themselves a "bitch." Also, although in some contexts "to bitch" does maintain some of its feminine specificity, it is relatively normal to say that a man is "bitching" about something.

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The adjective bitchy has a wider range of meanings, but it also tends to be less strong than the noun bitch. Someone who is bitchy may be merely temperamental or moody. Bitchy is more likely to be applied to women. When used to describe a man, bitchy is somewhat feminizing. Alternately, when applied to articles of clothing, it suggests that they are worn to advertise sexual availability.

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Bitchin' was a valley girl term used in the 1980's synonymous with the word "cool".

Related Topics:
Valley girl - 1980's

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Beeotch is a variant pronunciation of bitch first used by Oakland, California rapper Too $hort in the early 80's.

Related Topics:
Oakland, California - Too $hort - 80's

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Biatch, Beyotch, Beyatch and other creative misspellings are all variants based on the perceived pronunciation of Beeotch.

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