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definitions

fag

1
[ fag ]
/ fæg /
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fag ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), fagged, fag·ging.

verb (used without object), fagged, fag·ging.

Chiefly British. to work until wearied; work hard: to fag away at French.
British Informal. to do menial chores for an older public-school pupil.

noun

RELATED WORDS

smoke, dwindle, faint, wither, deteriorate, fail, suffer, rot, weaken, annoy, depress, dishearten, exasperate, dispirit, displease, jade, overwork, irritate, drain, irk

Nearby words

  1. faery,
  2. faes, pieter van der,
  3. faff,
  4. faffy,
  5. fafnir,
  6. fag end,
  7. fag hag,
  8. fagaceous,
  9. faggi,
  10. faggot

Origin of fag

1
1425–75; late Middle English fagge broken thread in cloth, loose end (of obscure origin); sense development apparently: drooping end > to droop, tire > to make weary > drudgery, drudge (compare relationship of flag1 to flag3); (def 6) a shortening of fag end (a butt, hence a cigarette)
Related formsun·fagged, adjective

fag

2
[ fag ]
/ fæg /

noun Slang.

Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a male homosexual.
Offensive. a contemptible or dislikable person.

Origin of fag

2
An Americanism dating back to 1920–25; by shortening
Related formsfag·gish, adjective

Usage alert

The terms faggot and fag are both used with disparaging intent and are perceived as highly insulting. However, faggot (but not fag ) is sometimes used within the gay community as a positive term of self-reference.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for fag

fag

1
/ (fæɡ) /

noun

informal a boring or wearisome taskit's a fag having to walk all that way
British (esp formerly) a young public school boy who performs menial chores for an older boy or prefect

verb fags, fagging or fagged

(when tr, often foll by out) informal to become or cause to become exhausted by hard toil or work
(usually intr) British to do or cause to do menial chores in a public schoolBrown fags for Lee

Word Origin for fag

C18: of obscure origin

noun

British a slang word for cigarette
a fag end, as of cloth

Word Origin for fag

C16 (in the sense: something hanging loose, flap): of obscure origin

noun

slang, mainly US and Canadian short for faggot 2
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for fag
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper