fig vs figure what difference
what is difference between fig and figure
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fɪɡ/
- Rhymes: -ɪɡ
Etymology 1
From Middle English fige, fygge (also fyke, from Old English fīc, see fike), borrowed from Anglo-Norman figue, borrowed from Old French figue, from Old Occitan figa, from Vulgar Latin *fīca (“fig”), from Latin fīcus (“fig tree”), from a pre-Indo European language, perhaps Phoenician ???????? (pg, literally “ripe fig”) (compare Biblical Hebrew פַּגָּה (paggâ, “early fallen fig”), Classical Syriac ܦܓܐ (paggāʾ), dialectal Arabic فَجّ (fajj), فِجّ (fijj)). (Another Semitic root (compare Akkadian ???? (tīʾu, literally “fig”)) was borrowed into Ancient Greek as σῦκον (sûkon) (whence English sycophant; Boeotian τῦκον (tûkon)) and Armenian as թուզ (tʿuz).) The soap-making sense derives from the resemblance of the granulations in and texture of the soap to those of a fig. Doublet of fico.
Noun
fig (plural figs)
- A fruit-bearing tree or shrub of the genus Ficus that is native mainly to the tropics.
- 1611, King James Version, Genesis 3:7:
- And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
- 1611, King James Version, Genesis 3:7:
- The fruit of the fig tree, pear-shaped and containing many small seeds.
- A small piece of tobacco.
- The value of a fig, practically nothing; a fico; a whit.
- 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2, Act II, sc. 3:
- I’ll pledge you all; and a fig for Peter!
- 1848, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, Chapter 6:
- About Rebecca and Jos he did not care a fig.
- 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2, Act II, sc. 3:
- (Newfoundland, dated) a raisin (dried grape)
- figgy duff – boiled pudding with raisins
Derived terms
Descendants
- Tok Pisin: fik
- → Chuukese: fik
- → Maori: piki
Translations
Verb
fig (third-person singular simple present figs, present participle figging, simple past and past participle figged)
- (obsolete) To insult with a fico, or contemptuous motion.
- (obsolete) To put into the head of, as something useless or contemptible.
- (soap-making, dated) To develop, or cause (a soap) to develop, white streaks or granulations. [mid-1800s to mid-1900s]
- 1893, Henry Gathmann, American Soaps, page 204:
- For filling figged soaps silicate of potash is best adapted, as soda prevents in a measure the proper crystallization. […] Artificially figged soap […makes] a very close imitation of the naturally figged soap.
- 1897, The National Provisioner, page 27:
- Figging is usually considered to indicate a good quality of soft soap, but such is really not the case. A first-class soft soap can be made which will not fig, while, on the other hand, a poor soap can be produced which will fig.
- 1938, Harry Bennett, The Standard Book of Formulas:
- In the cold soaps, the water soluble color is added in liquid form after saponification has started. In figged soaps, the color is crutched in after saponification is completed.
- 1893, Henry Gathmann, American Soaps, page 204:
Further reading
- fig on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- fig tree on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Ficus on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
Etymology 2
Variation of fike.
Verb
fig (third-person singular simple present figs, present participle figging, simple past and past participle figged)
- (intransitive) To move suddenly or quickly; rove about.
Derived terms
- figgle
Etymology 3
Noun
fig (plural figs)
- Abbreviation of figure. (diagram or illustration)
- (colloquial, dated) A person’s figure; dress or appearance.
Alternative forms
- (abbreviation): fig.
Verb
fig (third-person singular simple present figs, present participle figging, simple past and past participle figged)
- (colloquial, dated, transitive) To dress; to get oneself up a certain way.
Related terms
- figgery
Etymology 4
See figging.
Verb
fig (third-person singular simple present figs, present participle figging, simple past and past participle figged)
- (transitive, rare) To insert a ginger root into the anus, vagina or urethra of (a horse): to perform figging upon; to feague, to feak.
- 1874, The Slang Dictionary: Etymological, Historical, and Anecdotal, page 176:
- Ginger, a showy, fast horse — as if he had been figged with ginger under his tail; a red-haired man.
- 1901, Natal Agriculture Journal, page 744:
- He must be “figged.” Figging consists in pushing a piece of crushed ginger into the return of the wretched creature — a practice which is now illegal, and of which information should be given to the R.S.P.C.A. whenever detected.
- 2015, Becky Lower, The Cotillion Ball Saga, Simon and Schuster (→ISBN):
- “Is something amiss with the horse, Parr?” His gaze left the horse for a second as he glanced at Grace. “Yes, the horse has been figged. Now I just need to figure out who the culprit is.”
- 1874, The Slang Dictionary: Etymological, Historical, and Anecdotal, page 176:
Noun
fig (plural figs)
- The piece of ginger root used in figging.
References
Anagrams
- FGI, GFI, GIF, IGF, gif
Haitian Creole
Etymology
French figue (“fig”).
Noun
fig
- banana
Polish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fʲik/
Noun
fig
- genitive plural of figa
Noun
fig
- genitive plural of figi
Volapük
Noun
fig (nominative plural figs)
- fig
Declension
English
Etymology
From Middle English figure, borrowed from Old French figure, from Latin figūra (“form, shape, form of a word, a figure of speech, Late Latin a sketch, drawing”), from fingō (“to form, shape, mold, fashion”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to mold, shape, form, knead”). Cognate with Ancient Greek τεῖχος (teîkhos), Sanskrit देग्धि (degdhi), Old English dāg (“dough”). More at dough. Doublet of figura.
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈfɪɡjɚ/, /ˈfɪɡɚ/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈfɪɡə/
- (Canada) IPA(key): /ˈfɪɡɚ/, /ˈfɪɡjɚ/
- Rhymes: -ɪɡə(ɹ), -ɪɡjə(ɹ)
- Hyphenation: fig‧ure
Noun
figure (plural figures)
- A drawing or diagram conveying information.
- The representation of any form, as by drawing, painting, modelling, carving, embroidering, etc.; especially, a representation of the human body.
- a figure in bronze; a figure cut in marble
- A person or thing representing a certain consciousness.
- The appearance or impression made by the conduct or career of a person.
- He cut a sorry figure standing there in the rain.
- I made some figure there.
- 1770, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England
- gentlemen of the best figure in the county
- (obsolete) Distinguished appearance; magnificence; conspicuous representation; splendour; show.
- 1729, William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life
- that he may live in figure and indulgence
- 1729, William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life
- A human figure, which dress or corset must fit to; the shape of a human body.
- A numeral.
- A number, an amount.
- A shape.
- A visible pattern as in wood or cloth.
- The muslin was of a pretty figure.
- Any complex dance moveW.
- A figure of speech.
- (logic) The form of a syllogism with respect to the relative position of the middle term.
- (astrology) A horoscope; the diagram of the aspects of the astrological houses.
- 1889, Franz Hartmann, The Principles of Astrological Geomancy
- its quality, like those of all the rest, is determined by its position in the house of the astrological figure
- 1889, Franz Hartmann, The Principles of Astrological Geomancy
- (music) Any short succession of notes, either as melody or as a group of chords, which produce a single complete and distinct impression.
- 1888, George Grove, Beethoven’s Nine Symphonies: Analytical Essays
- Here, Beethoven limits the syncopations and modifications of rhythm which are so prominent in the first and third movements, and employs a rapid, busy, and most melodious figure in the Violins, which is irresistible in its gay and brilliant effect […]
- 1888, George Grove, Beethoven’s Nine Symphonies: Analytical Essays
- (music) A form of melody or accompaniment kept up through a strain or passage; a motif; a florid embellishment.
Derived terms
Related terms
- figurine
- figurative
- figuratively
Descendants
- → Japanese: フィギュア (figyua)
Translations
Verb
figure (third-person singular simple present figures, present participle figuring, simple past and past participle figured)
- (chiefly US) To calculate, to solve a mathematical problem.
- (chiefly US) To come to understand.
- To think, to assume, to suppose, to reckon.
- (chiefly US, intransitive) To be reasonable.
- (intransitive) To enter into; to be a part of.
- (obsolete) To represent by a figure, as to form or mould; to make an image of, either palpable or ideal; also, to fashion into a determinate form; to shape.
- To embellish with design; to adorn with figures.
- (obsolete) To indicate by numerals.
- 1698 , John Dryden, Epitaph of Mary Frampton
- As through a crystal glass the figured hours are seen.
- 1698 , John Dryden, Epitaph of Mary Frampton
- To represent by a metaphor; to signify or symbolize.
- (obsolete) To prefigure; to foreshow.
- (music) To write over or under the bass, as figures or other characters, in order to indicate the accompanying chords.
- (music) To embellish.
Derived terms
- go figure
- prefigure
- figure on
- figure out (US)
Translations
Further reading
- figure in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- figure in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin figūra.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fi.ɡyʁ/
Noun
figure f (plural figures)
- face
- figure
Synonyms
- visage
Derived terms
Further reading
- “figure” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fiˈɡu.re/
- Rhymes: -ure
Noun
figure f
- plural of figura
Portuguese
Verb
figure
- first-person singular present subjunctive of figurar
- third-person singular present subjunctive of figurar
- third-person singular negative imperative of figurar
- third-person singular imperative of figurar
Spanish
Verb
figure
- Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of figurar.
- First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of figurar.
- Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of figurar.
- Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of figurar.