Learn English – Origin of fag (meaning a cigarette in British English)

british-englishetymology

Aside from the offensive meaning, colloquial British English uses the term fag to indicate a cigarette.

James has gone outside for a fag

In my googling, I thought perhaps this originates from one of the possible meanings of faggot:

a bundle of sticks, twigs, or branches bound together and used as fuel, a fascine, a torch, etc.

dictionary.reference.com

In a very loose sense, this definition could be applied to a cigarette. It's a collection of materials (tar, tobacco, etc) bound together for burning.

The origin from Etymonline indicates:

1888, probably from fag "loose piece, last remnant of cloth" (late 14c., as in fag-end "extreme end, loose piece," 1610s)

This appears to be speculative, and doesn't necessarily explain why this definition fell into common usage to indicate a cigarette. I'm looking for something more concrete indicating what caused it to be used in this context.

What is the origin of this meaning of the word?

Best Answer

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, it comes from "fag", meaning a loose piece of cloth:

fag (n.1) Look up fag at Dictionary.com British slang for "cigarette" (originally, especially, the butt of a smoked cigarette), 1888, probably from fag "loose piece, last remnant of cloth" (late 14c., as in fag-end "extreme end, loose piece," 1610s), which perhaps is related to fag (v.), which could make it a variant of flag (v.).

The OED is a bit more convinced and categorically links it to fag-end:

Etymology: Abbreviation of fag-end. (Cf. fag sb.2 2.)

a. The fag-end of a cigarette. b. A cheap cigarette. c. Any cigarette (the current use). Also attrib., as fag card, a cigarette card; fag hag (see quot. 1945).

  • 1888 Sat. Rev. 30 June 786/2 ― They··burn their throats with the abominable ‘fag’, with its acrid paper and vile tobacco.
  • 1893 Pick-me-up 14 Oct. 45/2 ― Stimulants he calls ‘booze’ and a cigarette a ‘fag’.
  • 1898 Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v., ― Here [sc. at Redruth] we are often asked by youngsters to ‘chuck’ them ‘a fag’-and whole cheap cigarettes are also often called fags.
  • 1908 Church Times 7 Feb. 173/1 ― He gathered into a leather pouch the remains of his cigarettes, and left the room. ‘What does he do with all those fags?’ asked Conway. 1921 Galsworthy To Let iii. viii. 284 ― The fag of Fleur’s cigarette··fell on the grass.
  • 1922 Joyce Ulysses 70 ― Smoking a chewed fagbutt. 1928 Galsworthy Swan Song iv. 24 ― Cinemas, fags, and football matches-there would be no real revolution while they were on hand.
  • 1942 C. Barrett On Wallaby v. 97 ― Cobbers of the men in detention had hit upon an ingenious method of smuggling fags to them.
  • 1945 L. Shelly Jive Talk Dict. 24/1 ― Fag hag, girl chain smoker.
  • 1959 W. Golding Free Fall ii. 49 ― There was the business of the fagcards. We all collected them.

Fag-end itself, always according to the OED, comes from an usage of fag, meaning "something that hangs loose". I read all this as suggesting that the word for cigarette came about because of the way cigarettes often hang from smokers' mouths. For a famous example, see Lucky Luke:

Lucky Luke

Related Topic