fanny

fanny · noun¹

19th century. Ultimately from Fanny, pet form of the name Frances. Compare dick, John Thomas, mickey.

fanny · noun²

The British naval slang sense derives from Fanny Adams. Tins of mutton introduced as rations were not liked by the sailors and were taken by them to contain the butchered remains of Fanny Adams who had been brutally murdered and dismembered. The tins were re-used for eating from and cooking with.

First known use, by meaning

• from 1830s The female genitalia.
• from 1910s The buttocks; arguably the most nearly polite of several euphemisms.