Etymology

figging

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Today it means: The insertion of ginger root into the anus, vagina or urethra, applied to people as a punishment (typically in BDSM), or to horses to make them deceptively lively (feaguing). Full definition →

First used mid-19th–mid-20th c.
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figging · noun1

Generally thought to derive from feaguing.

figging · noun, verb2

From fig + -ing.

First known use, by meaning

  • mid-19th–mid-20th c. (Development of) white streaks or granulations in soap, a natural development in some soaps once considered a sign of quality and therefore sometimes artificially imitated.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.