mf

¹

1. medium frequency.
2. millifarad; millifarads.

MF

²

abbreviation for

1. medium frequency.
2. Middle French.

mF

³

or mf

1. millifarad; millifarads.

mf.

⁴

abbreviation for

1. Music. mezzo forte.
2. microfarad.

m/f

⁵

or M/F

1. male or female: used especially in classified ads.

M.F.

⁶

abbreviation for

1. Master of Forestry.
2. Middle French.

MF

¹

abbreviation for

1. radio medium frequency
2. Middle French

mf

²

abbreviation for

1. mezzo forte

Word History and Origins

Origin of mf¹

Italian: moderately loud

Example Sentences

It would also, of course, be exactly what happened at MF Global.

From The Daily Beast

However, neither Fidelity, nor the TSP, is about to pull an MF Global.

From The Daily Beast

“My pain and embarrassment do not blind me to the fact that they bear the brunt,” Corzine said of the MF Global victims.

From The Daily Beast

The board of the firm loved the idea of MF Global as a mini-Goldman.

From The Daily Beast

Watch video of Zachary Karabell discussing what went wrong at MF Global, and what may be in store for Jon Corzine.

From The Daily Beast

Each sex produces two sorts of gametes, Mf and mf in the case of the male, and Fm, fm in that of the female.

From Project Gutenberg

To tune the loop for broadcasts a condenser of about 0.0005 mf.

From Project Gutenberg

The table is in two parts, the first for an antenna of capacity 0.0001 mf.

From Project Gutenberg

About This Word

What else does MF mean?

Content warning: this article contains strong language.

MF can stand for many things: mutual friends, Millennium Falcon, mezzo forte, mad flow, and medium frequency, to name a few. Its most common online meaning, though, is motherfucker or motherfucking.

Where does MF come from?

MF comes from one of the strongest swears in the English language: motherfucker. Motherfucking is found in the 1880s, and motherfucker, for a “vile, worthless person,” in the 1910s.

In the 1950s, motherfucker, showing the flip from bad to good seen in many swear words, came to mean “badass.” Motherfucking also became a general intensifier (e.g., That’s motherfucking awesome).

In 1970, a Jet article printed M.F. in a report about how Georgia legislator and civil rights leader Julian Bond called Vice President Spiro Agnew a “Maryland Farmer.” This is a euphemism for motherfucker based on its initials, MF.

If anyone wasn’t already aware that MF was a cleaner way to say or print motherfucker, Prince’s 1992 hit “Sexy M.F.” filled them in. 

The internet and social media, ever the environment for shorthands and workarounds, helped spread MF in the 1990s–2000s.

How is MF used in real life?

MF can stand in for all your MF needs (e.g., a motherfucker or the modifier motherfucking). MF’er, for motherfucker, is a variant, as is MF‘ing.

In the digital age, you’ll likely see MF online for people either trying to save a little time in their swearing or avoid the outright force of motherfucker. People may also use MF for some self-censorship in speech.

You can’t say motherfucker on broadcast TV in the U.S. and a lot of print outlets won’t publish it, so MF is a commonly used substitute by media sources from Fox News to Mother Jones when reporting.

I’m starting to find myself and I’m realizin I’m a cool mf

— Tamara Powell (@TamaraPowell9) November 27, 2018

Indian film star Priyanka Chopra sparked some controversy in 2017 when she called her ex-boyfriend a MF. 

Hip-hop artist Shotgun Wang inspired a meme with his 2017 track “I Keep That MF Thang On Me.” The MF in the track is a shoutout to its producer, MF Doom, whose MF stands for metal force, metal fingers, and even mad flow. But we’re pretty sure they are both taking advantage of MF‘s other association. The meme featured people carrying unexpected things in their pockets.

Note

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.