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fig 1 (fĭg)
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n.
1.
a. Any of various trees or shrubs of the genus Ficus, especially F. carica, native to the Mediterranean region and widely cultivated for its edible multiple fruit.
b. The sweet, hollow, pear-shaped, multiple fruit of this plant, having many tiny seedlike fruits.
2.
a. Any of several plants bearing similar fruit.
b. The fruit of such a plant.
3. A trivial or contemptible amount: not worth a fig.

[Middle English, from Old French figue, from Old Provençal figa, from Vulgar Latin *fīca, from Latin fīcus; possibly akin to Greek sūkon (with Boeotian dialectal variant tūkon) and Armenian t‘uz, fig, all ultimately of Near Eastern or Mediterranean substrate origin.]
(click for a larger image)
fig1
common fig
Ficus carica

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
fig 2 (fĭg)
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n.
1. Dress; array: in full fig.
2. Physical condition; shape: in fine fig.

[Perhaps from fig, to trot out a horse in lively condition, dress up, variant of feague, to make a horse lively, probably from Dutch vegen, to brush, from Middle Dutch vēghen.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
fig.
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abbr.
1. figurative
2. figuratively
3. figure

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.