Source: WordNet® 3.1
figging (uncountable)
The insertion of ginger root into the anus, vagina or urethra, originally applied to slaves and prisoners as a punishment, then to horses as a form of deception as to the horse's condition, and later used in BDSM.
figging (uncountable)
(soap-making, dated) (Development of) white streaks or granulations in soap, a natural development in some soaps once considered a sign of quality and therefore sometimes artificially imitated. [mid-1800s to mid-1900s]
figging
present participle of fig
Source: Wiktionary
Fig, n. Etym: [F. figue the fruit of the tree, Pr. figa, fr. L. ficus fig tree, fig. Cf. Fico.]
1. (Bot.)
Definition: A small fruit tree (Ficus Carica) with large leaves, known from the remotest antiquity. It was probably native from Syria westward to the Canary Islands.
2. The fruit of a fig tree, which is of round or oblong shape, and of various colors.
Note: The fruit of a fig tree is really the hollow end of a stem, and bears numerous achenia inside the cavity. Many species have little, hard, inedible figs, and in only a few does the fruit become soft and pulpy. The fruit of the cultivated varieties is much prized in its fresh state, and also when dried or preserved. See Caprification.
3. A small piece of tobacco. [U.S.]
4. The value of a fig, practically nothing; a fico; -- used in scorn or contempt. "A fig for Peter." Shak. Cochineal fig. See Conchineal fig.
– Fig dust, a preparation of fine oatmeal for feeding caged birds.
– Fig faun, one of a class of rural deities or monsters supposed to live on figs. "Therefore shall dragons dwell there with the fig fauns." Jer. i. 39. (Douay version).
– Fig gnat (Zoöl.), a small fly said to be injurious to figs.
– Fig leaf, the leaf tree; hence, in allusion to the first clothing of Adam and Eve (Genesis iii.7), a covering for a thing that ought to be concealed; esp., an inadequate covering; a symbol for affected modesty.
– Fig marigold (Bot.), the name of several plants of the genus Mesembryanthemum, some of which are prized for the brilliancy and beauty of their flowers.
– Fig tree (Bot.), any tree of the genus Ficus, but especially F. Carica which produces the fig of commerce.
Fig, v. t. Etym: [See Fico, Fig, n.]
1. To insult with a fico, or contemptuous motion. See Fico. [Obs.] When Pistol lies, do this, and fig me like The bragging Spaniard. Shak.
2. To put into the head of, as something useless o [Obs.] L'Estrange.
Fig, n.
Definition: Figure; dress; array. [Colloq.] Were they all in full fig, the females with feathers on their heads, the males with chapeaux bras Prof. Wilson.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
23 February 2025
(noun) an advantageous purchase; “she got a bargain at the auction”; “the stock was a real buy at that price”
Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.
