fig leaf

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word fig leaf. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word fig leaf, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say fig leaf in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word fig leaf you have here. The definition of the word fig leaf will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition offig leaf, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: figleaf and fig-leaf

English

A fig leaf

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English *figge leef (attested in the plural figge leves), a partial calque of Old English fīclēaf (“fig leaf”). By surface analysis, fig +‎ leaf.

Noun

fig leaf (plural fig leaves)

  1. A leaf of the fig plant.
  2. A representation of leaf of a fig plant used to cover the genitals of a nude figure in a work of art (alluding to Genesis iii 7, in which Adam and Eve use fig leaves to hide their nakedness).
  3. (figuratively) Anything used to conceal something undesirable or that one does not want to be discovered.
    • 2019 July 24, David Austin Walsh, “Flirting With Fascism”, in Jewish Currents‎:
      True, David Brog, one of the organizers of last week’s conference, insisted that national conservatives are not anti-immigrant. But this is a fig leaf. Wax explicitly made an argument for limiting the number of nonwhites entering the US.
    • 2022 February 1, Marina Hyde, “Never mind wine fridges, the Tory party is drunk on Kool-Aid”, in The Guardian‎:
      In fact, speaking of paedos, the prime minister chose to use one as a figleaf.

Derived terms

Translations

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia