Lexic.us

Definition of Fig leaf

1. Noun. A leaf from a fig tree.

2. Noun. A covering consisting of anything intended to conceal something regarded as shameful.

Definition of Fig leaf

1. Noun. A leaf of the fig plant. ¹

2. Noun. A representation of leaf of a fig plant used to cover the genitals of a nude figure in a work of art (''alluding to Genesis iii 7, in which Adam and Eve use fig leaves to hide their nakedness''). ¹

3. Noun. (context: figuratively) Anything used to conceal something undesirable or that one does not want to be discovered. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Fig Leaf

fifty-three fifty-two fifty dollar bill fifty percent fifty six fiftyfold fiftyish fiftysomething fiftysomethings fig

fig-bird fig-leaf fig-leaved fig-shell fig. fig leaves fig marigold fig moth fig out fig tree

fig up fig wart fig wasp fig wasps fig wax figaries figary figbird figbirds

Literary usage of Fig leaf

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant: Embracing English, American, and Anglo by Charles Godfrey Leland (1889)
"Hotten thinks it may be an allusion to the fig- leaf of our first parents. ... fig leaf (common), a small ornamented apron worn by ladies. ..."

2. Culture and Anarchy: An Essay in Political and Social Criticism by Matthew Arnold (1869)
"... because the swarming of the earth with beings does indeed, in the East of London, so seem to revive . . . the old story of the fig-leaf time—. such a ..."

3. The Life of Benjamin Franklin: With Many Choice Anecdotes and Admirable by Mason Locke Weems (1835)
"I don't understand you, child; what do you mean by the fig-leaf? ... I mean to say that as Adam sought a vain fig-leaf covering, rather than the imitation ..."

4. The Curio (1888)
"THE MORALITY OF THE fig leaf. TALLEYRAND, who gets the same credit for most of the good things that have been said in France that Abraham Lincoln used to ..."

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