Fig (?), n. [F. figue the fruit of the tree, Pr. figa, fr. L. ficus fig tree, fig. Cf. Fico.] 1. (Bot.) 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.
☞ 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.
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.