fig leafn.
/ˈfɪɡ liːf/, U.S. /ˈfɪɡ ˌlif/ 1.
a. The leaf of a fig tree; chiefly in reference to Genesis iii. 7.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fruit-tree or -plant > [noun] > tropical or exotic fruit-tree or -plant > fig-tree > fig-leaf
fig leaf1535
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Gen. iii. B They..sowed fygge leaues together.
1675 W. Wycherley Country-wife ii. 27 I wou'd as soon look upon a Picture of Adam and Eve, without fig leaves, as any of you.
1854 J. R. Lowell Jrnl. Italy in Wks. (1890) I. 116 The evening is so hot that Adam would have been glad to leave off his fig-leaves.
b. transferred. slang. (See quot. 1891.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > that covers or protects other clothing > apron
barm-clothc1000
barm-hatrec1300
apron1307
belly-cheat1608
base1613
placket1661
belly-piece1689
flag1851
fig leaf1891
1891 J. S. Farmer Slang II. 304/1 Fig-leaf, an apron. In fencing, the padded shield worn over the lower abdomen and right thigh.
2. figurative. A device for concealing something shameful or indecorous; a flimsy disguise. Originally only in plural.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > means of concealment > [noun] > of something shameful
fig leaf1553
cover-shame1629
1553 H. Latimer Fruitf. Serm. (1584) 296 b It is all but figge~leaues what man can do.
1621 F. Bacon Submission to Ho. Lords in J. Rushworth Hist. Coll. (1659) 29 Without Fig-leaves I do ingeniously confess and acknowledge, that [etc.].
1755 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 20 Oct. (1967) III. 97 Fig leaves are as necessary for our Minds as our Bodies.
1843 J. R. Lowell Glance behind Curtain in Poems (1844) For men in earnest have no time to waste In patching fig-leaves for the naked truth.
1850 C. Kingsley Alton Locke I. xx. 282 They tore off..even the fig-leaves of decent reticence.
c1856 R. W. Emerson Jrnl. in Sel. Writings (1965) 168 Whipple said of the author of ‘Leaves of Grass’ that he had every leaf but the figleaf.
1897 Daily News 20 Oct. 5/6 Court and country in Spain would rejoice if they succeeded in getting rid of Cuba in a decent..manner. They seek the fig-leaf.
1960 C. W. Mills Castro's Cuba iii. 69 If they had some kind of puppet regime there, they could ‘recognize’ it and arm it. That would be their fig leaf.
3. attributive, as fig-leaf covering, fig-leaf defence.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > means of concealment > [adjective] > that disguises > something shameful
fig-leaf covering1648
1648 W. Jenkyn Ὁδηγος Τυϕλος iii. 37 The novice hath..driven you to..a meere Figg-leafe defence.
a1683 A. Sidney Disc. Govt. (1698) ii. §xxi. 157 These are imperfect Fig-leave coverings of Nakedness.
1850 J. G. Whittier Old Portraits 2 The tearing off of the fig-leaf covering of its sin.
Derivatives
ˈfigleaf v. (transitive) to cover with a fig leaf, or fig leaves.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > means of concealment > conceal by disguise [verb (transitive)] > something discreditable
figleaf1880
1880 ‘M. Twain’ Tramp Abroad l. 578 Yet these ridiculous creatures have been thoughtfully and conscientiously fig-leaved by this fastidious generation.
ˈfig-leaved adj. (a) made of fig leaves; (b) (see quot. 1816-20).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fruit-tree or -plant > [adjective] > of fig-tree or leaves
fig treea1340
fig-leaved1710
burr1813
1710 Brit. Apollo 3 2/1 Adam made himself a pair of Fig-leav'd Breeches.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VI. xxxiii. 120 A husband is a charming cloak; a fig-leaf'd apron for a wife.
1816–20 T. Green Universal Herbal I. 289 Chenopodium Serotinum, fig-leaved Goosefoot.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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