fig

US /fɪɡ/ UK /fɪɡ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the soft sweet fruit of the fig tree, or a thing of trivial value

He didn't care a fig for their opinion.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the soft sweet fruit of the... trifle jot whit iota

Etymology

From Old French figue, from Old Provençal figa, from Vulgar Latin *fica, from Latin ficus ('fig tree, fig'), a word of uncertain, probably Mediterranean substrate, origin.

ficus Latin

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Topics

Plants & Agriculture

External links

# fig

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /fɪɡ/
**IPA (UK):** /fɪɡ/

## Meanings
1. the soft sweet fruit of the fig tree, or a thing of trivial value

## Examples
- He didn't care a fig for their opinion.

## Synonyms
- trifle
- jot
- whit
- iota

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ficus

## Etymology
From Old French figue, from Old Provençal figa, from Vulgar Latin *fica, from Latin ficus ('fig tree, fig'), a word of uncertain, probably Mediterranean substrate, origin.

## AI Etymology
Fig comes from Old French figue, from Old Provençal figa, from Vulgar Latin *fica, from Latin ficus ('fig tree, fig'), a word of uncertain, probably Mediterranean substrate, origin. The history is deliberately cautious: the proposed comparison is useful for orientation, but the wording leaves room for uncertainty rather than forcing a false certainty. In present use, it is used as a noun meaning "the soft sweet fruit of the fig tree, or a thing of trivial value", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The named historical forms include Latin ficus, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood includes trifle, jot, whit, and iota, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- Plants & Agriculture

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fig

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