What does feague mean?
Feague is an obscure English verb meaning to beat or whip, best known today through a colorful piece of eighteenth-century horse-dealing slang. In that context, to feague a horse meant to enliven or plump it up artificially — by one notorious account, even by shocking means — so that a jaded animal would appear lively and valuable at auction. The word's notoriety owes much to its appearance in period glossaries of sporting cant, where the recorded 'method' was so absurd that later writers have wondered whether the entry began as a joke at the expense of credulous dictionary-makers. Whatever its exact history, feague never entered everyday speech, and it now belongs to the curious fringes of the lexicon, cited in books about forgotten words and the hazards of early lexicography. For readers, it offers a vivid reminder that dictionaries have sometimes preserved pranks alongside genuine language.
verbTo beat, whip, or thrash; in historical horse-dealing slang, to fatten or animate a horse artificially or deceptively, especially by fraudulent means before sale.
- To beat, whip, or thrash.
- (Historical horse-dealing slang) to enliven or fatten a horse artificially or fraudulently before selling it.
"The dishonest dealer would feague the worn-out horse into looking lively just long enough to close the sale."
"The stable boy feared the master would feague him for neglecting his duties."
"According to old sporting slang, unscrupulous dealers would feague a sluggish horse to make it seem spirited at market."
Feague appears in an infamous 18th-century dictionary of sporting slang describing how horse traders supposedly revived listless horses for sale — a trick so outrageous that some suspect the entry itself was a joke that fooled lexicographers.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of feague
Feague is first recorded in English in the late eighteenth century, appearing in dictionaries of slang and sporting cant. Its origin is uncertain, but it has been connected to the German verb fegen, meaning 'to sweep' or 'to clean', which could account for senses involving cleaning out or working over a horse; this link, however, is conjectural rather than firmly established. The word's survival owes more to its sensational horse-trading anecdote than to any widespread currency in speech.
How feague is actually used
Extremely rare and archaic; it survives mainly in historical dictionaries of slang and in discussions of obsolete vocabulary. Its most famous attestation describes dubious horse-trading practices, and modern readers will encounter it almost exclusively in historical or lexical contexts rather than living speech.
Easily confused with feague
Fatigue means tiredness or exhaustion, while feague is an archaic verb meaning to beat or whip.