fig, fige, fyg, fyge, fygge

[Fr. figue; Prov. fig a, Sp. figo, from Lat. ficus =a fig; Dut, vijg, Ger. feige. The A. S. fic is directly from the Lat. ficus.] I. Ordinary Language: 1. Literally: (1) The fruit of the fig-tree. It is not a true fruit, but a fleshy receptacle of a conical form, attached by the narrow end, the broad end or apex having a small opening like a pore, the true flowers and seeds lining the interior. It is demulcent and laxative, and is used for cataplasms. The best figs are imported into this country from Turkey; others are supplied by Greece, Spain, Italy, and North Africa. "Swete frut that me clepeth figes ."-Ancren Riwle, P. 150. (2) The fig-tree (q. v.) "Full on its crown a fig's green branches rise. Pope: Homer's Ody ey, xii. 127. 2. Figuratively : *(1) The disease called the piles (q. v.). "The Figes ; quidam morbus, ficus ." -Cathol . Anglicum . (2) A small piece of tobacco. ( American .) (3) Anything of the very least value or importance. (Used in contempt or scorn.) [FICO.] "A fig for Peter."- Shakesp .: Henry VI ., Pt . II ., ii. 3. II. Farriery : An excrescence on the frog of a horse's foot consequent on a bruise. Indian fig : 1. Sing .: Opuntia vulgar is , or any other species of the genus. 2. Pl .: The name given by Lindley to the order Cactaceæ. fig-apple, s. A species of apple. "A fig - apple hath no core or kernel, in these resembling a fig, and differing from other apples." - Mortimer : Has ban dry. fig-bean, s. Fig .: A name for some species of Lupinus. ( Brit ten & Holland .) fig-cake, s. A preparation of figs and almonds worked up into a hard paste and pre ed into round cakes like small cheeses.