Wikipedia has this:
It is unclear whether the word has always been considered vulgar, and if not, when it first came to be used to describe (often in an extremely angry, hostile or belligerent manner) unpleasant circumstances or people in an intentionally offensive way [...]
And:
The Oxford English Dictionary states that the ultimate etymology is uncertain, but that the word is "probably cognate" with a number of native Germanic words with meanings involving striking, rubbing, and having sex.
Etymonline offers further insight:
until recently a difficult word to trace, in part because it was taboo to the editors of the original Oxford English Dictionary when the "F" volume was compiled, 1893-97. Written form only attested from early 16c. Oxford English Dictionary 2nd edition cites 1503, in the form fukkit; earliest appearance of current spelling is 1535 -- "Bischops ... may fuck thair fill and be vnmaryit" [Sir David Lyndesay, "Ane Satyre of the Thrie Estaits"], but presumably it is a much more ancient word than that, simply one that wasn't written in the kind of texts that have survived from Old English and Middle English.
[...]
Verbal phrase fuck up "to ruin, spoil, destroy" first attested c.1916. [...] Fuck off attested from 1929; as a command to depart, by 1944. Flying fuck originally meant "have sex on horseback" and is first attested c.1800 in broadside ballad "New Feats of Horsemanship." For the unkillable urban legend that this word is an acronym of some sort (a fiction traceable on the Internet to 1995 but probably predating that) see here, and also here. [...] Agent noun fucker attested from 1590s in literal sense; by 1893 as a term of abuse (or admiration).
I think the verb to arch (to be an arch-enemy or do arch-enemy things against a hero) is from The Venture Bros. cartoon and mostly restricted to the programme and its fans.
The top entry on Urban Dictionary is:
1. arCH
arch, to arch /ahrCH/
verb transitive
to desire to cause harm, foil plans, and generally create aggression against targeted individuals or groups, used esp. with supervillains
We go around "arching" people at work.
[arch] [venture bro] [monarch] [adult swim] [rusty]
by Dr Girlfriend October 26, 2011
23 up, 14 down
You'll notice the tags include "venture bro", so it appears to be only used in reference to the The Venture Bros. cartoon. The person who added it used a username, Dr. Girlfriend, which is an alias of the character Dr. Mrs. The Monarch in the same cartoon.
The Monarch used the verb in episode 36, "The Lepidopterists" of The Venture Bros. (original airdate: Aug 3, 2008):
I'm trying to arch here, this is how it's done!
It was also used in episode 30 (June 22, 2008):
Sgt. Hatred - The one thing I've learned is there's no good reason on God's green earth that arching has to be a completely unpleasant experience for either of us.
In Episode 34 (July 20, 2008):
HENCHMAN 24
He went arching? Without us?
HENCHMAN 21
Ow! Oh! We don't get to do anything! I'm like this close to arching the paperboy!
And Episode 10 (October 9, 2004):
Dr. Girlfriend: I'm flattered boys, but I'm with the Monarch now. And you know he's been arching Dr. Venture
The verb is used a lot by fans in The Archer Bros. wiki.
Best Answer
The word loony has an entry in EtymOnline. It says:
However, the OED disagrees and instead dates the term to 1872, from the short story "An Heiress of Red Dog" by Bret Harte. The story says,
I'm more inclined to believe the OED (thank you Nicholas for bringing this up!), so with a date of 1872 the phrase is not substantially old.