What does figged mean?
"Figged" is the past tense and past participle of the verb "fig," which most commonly means to dress up or adorn in a showy, elaborate way. In modern usage it survives largely in informal British expressions such as "figged out" or "all figged out," describing someone turned out in their finest clothes — a wedding guest figged out in ribbons and lace, say. The word carries a playful, slightly old-fashioned flavor, evoking rural fairs and Sunday best more than haute couture. A second, rarer sense refers to something prepared or decorated with figs, as in a figged pudding. The underlying noun "fig" descends from Old French "figue," ultimately from Latin "ficus." Though not an everyday word, "figged" rewards those who enjoy English's quirks, offering a charming alternative to "dressed up" that has tickled writers for centuries.
To have dressed up or adorned someone or something, especially in a showy manner.
"By evening the whole street was figged out with bunting and lanterns."
Chiefly found in the phrase "figged out"; otherwise largely dialectal or dated.
To have supplied or decorated with figs, as in cooking.
"The baker had figged the loaves with dried fruit for the festival."
Rare; mainly historical or descriptive of traditional recipes.
The Latin word for fig, "ficus," secretly lives inside "sycophant" — ancient Greek flatterers were literally called "fig-showers."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of figged
The word traces back through Old French "figue" to Latin "ficus," meaning fig tree or fig, which the Romans borrowed from Mediterranean sources. The verb "fig" developed in English by the sixteenth century, giving rise to both the culinary sense and the sense of dressing up showily, the latter perhaps influenced by the idea of decking things out like fine fruit. A curious cousin is "sycophant," from Greek for "fig-shower," an insult later applied to informers and flatterers.
Related word forms
How figged is actually used
The dressing-up sense is chiefly British and somewhat old-fashioned or dialectal today, surviving mostly in the informal phrase "figged out." It carries a playful, faintly rustic connotation rather than a formal one. The culinary sense with figs is rare and mainly historical or descriptive of traditional recipes.
Easily confused with figged
"Figured" means calculated, represented, or thought out, while "figged" refers to being dressed up or adorned — despite their similar spellings they share no meaning.