fig

Fig, the fruit, comes from Latin through French, while fig, dress, as in “in full fig”, is a 19th-century word of uncertain origin.^[1][2]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fɪɡ/^[3]

fig¹ fruit

Etymology

It is Middle English fige, borrowed from Old French figue (“fig”), fige,^[1][4][5] from Old Occitan figa, from Vulgar Latin *fica, from Latin fīcus (“fig tree, fig”).^[1][4][2] The Latin word, like Greek sûkon and Armenian tʻuz, is probably from a non-Indo-European language of the Mediterranean,^[4][2][1] possibly Semitic (compare Phoenician pagh, a half-ripe fig).^[1] It replaced Old English fīc, taken directly from Latin, whose descendant fike lasted until about 1500.^[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The fruit of the fig tree: probably before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle.^[4][6]

Semantic evolution

The tree itself is from 1382.^[6] A type of anything small or worthless is from about 1400,^[6] and the insulting “a fig for ...” from the 1570s, partly from this and partly from the Greek and Italian use of the word as slang for the vulva.^[1] Giving the fig, Old French faire la figue, was an indecent gesture made by putting the thumb between two fingers.^[1] A poisoned fig used to kill an enemy is from about 1589.^[6] The fig leaf, a flimsy disguise, is from the 1550s, after Genesis 3:7.^[1] Fig Newtons, by 1907, are named after Newton, Massachusetts.^[1]

Timeline

• before 1200 – the fruit.^[4]
• 1382 – the tree.^[6]
• c. 1400 – something worthless.^[6]
• 1550s – fig leaf.^[1]
• 1570s – a fig for.^[1]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A tree or shrub of the genus Ficus, especially one grown for its sweet, pear-shaped fruit.
2. The fruit of this tree.
3. Something of little value: not care a fig.

Word family

• fig leaf
• fig tree

fig² dress

Etymology

It is of unknown origin;^[2] it is said to be short for figure, perhaps from its abbreviation in book illustrations, or according to others from the fig leaves of Adam and Eve.^[1] MWU suggests that the related verb fig, to adorn, may be an alteration of Middle English fiken.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Dress, equipment, in the phrase in full fig: 1823.^[1]

Semantic evolution

A state of preparedness or physical condition is from 1883.^[1][7]

Timeline

• 1823 – in full fig.^[1]
• 1883 – condition.^[1]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (informal) Dress; array: in full fig.
2. (informal) Physical condition or shape.

Related words

• sycophant
• figure

Usage notes

In Warwickshire dialect a fig was a fit of temper.^[8] Collins notes fig. as an abbreviation of figurative and figure.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
2. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins