The fruit (really a syconium) of Ficus species; also used to indicate a whole plant of Ficus, as in fig-tree.
That fresh figs are pear-shaped is probably little known in North America, where most people are familiar only with the dried, scrunched-up version of the fruit. Usually imported from the Mediterranean, the fig takes its name from a Mediterranean language, a long-forgotten one that existed even before Indo-European emerged. From this Mediterranean language, Latin acquired its word for fig—ficus—which was adopted by Provencal, a dialect spoken in southeast France, as figua. This Provencal word then entered Old French as figue, which was adopted by English in the early thirteenth century as fig. The old expression, I don’t give a fig—meaning J don’t care or I don’t give a damn—also owes its existence to this seed-filled fruit. The expression did not arise from figs being worthless (an imported fig was actually an expensive item in England) but rather arose in Italy where the name of the fruit was sometimes used to refer to an obscene gesture, one performed by thrusting one’s thumb between one’s index and middle fingers. There are at least two possible explanations that account for this gesture and its name. The least offensive is that the thumb between the fingers represents a woman’s clitoris, a gesture that came to be called a fig—or in Italian, a fica—because a ripe fig, when split open, purportedly resembles the female genitalia. The other explanation, more bizarre, is that the gesture alludes to a punishment inflicted upon two Italians who dared to insult the wife of Frederick I, the King of Prussia: under threat of death, and using only their teeth, they were each forced to extract a fig that had been inserted into the anus of a donkey. If this explanation is true, then the obscene gesture arose as an imitation of this punishment—the thumb between the fingers representing the fig—and came to be known as the fig for obvious reasons. In any event, whatever its origin, the Italian gesture and its name were borrowed by the English in the early sixteenth century. In time, the gesture fell out of use, but fig, as in I don’t give a fig continued to mean something unwanted. This sense of fig was also adopted by the French, whose expression faire lafigue means—roughly translated—to give him the finger.
Figs are a type of fruit that grow in hot climates, and there are many different species grown throughout the world, including southern Europe, the Near East, and parts of the United States. In fact, figs were introduced to California by the Spanish in 1769 and have since become a popular crop there. The fruit itself has a fleshy exterior that encloses small, hard seeds. Figs can be purchased in different forms, such as canned in syrup or fresh when they are in season. They have a sweet and unique flavor, and are often enjoyed as a snack or used in various culinary preparations.