sycophant

Etymology

Recorded from the 1530s, first in the Latin form sycophanta,^[1] in the now obsolete sense “informer, slanderer”.^[1][2] It is borrowed from Latin sȳcophanta (“informer, slanderer”),^[2][3] from Ancient Greek συκοφάντης (sūkophántēs, “false accuser, slanderer”),^[1][4] literally “fig-shower”,^[5][1] from Ancient Greek σῦκον (sûkon, “fig”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “to show”).^[3][4]

Why the Greek word had this meaning has not been satisfactorily accounted for; the long-current explanation that it meant an informer against the unlawful export of figs cannot be substantiated.^[5][1] It may refer to the obscene gesture of “making a fig”.^[5][1]

References

1. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
2. [1] [2] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. [1] [2] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. [1] [2] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
5. [1] [2] [3] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press