# figging

Pronunciation: say "FIG-ing" /ˈfɪɡɪŋ/

## Noun

1. The practice of inserting ginger root into the anus, vagina or urethra, done to people as a punishment, typically in BDSM, or to horses to make them seem livelier than they are.
   - Simple: Putting ginger root into private parts, as a punishment in sex play or to make a horse look lively.
   - _Unscrupulous dealers relied on figging to pass off a tired old horse as a spirited one._
   - _The two of them agreed in advance that figging was not something either wanted to try._

## Verb

2. Present participle and gerund of fig. — present participle and gerund of fig
   - Simple: Present participle and gerund of fig. Use it after is, are, or was, or as the name of the action.
   - _The kids were figging themselves out in pirate costumes for the parade._
   - _As it cooled, the soft soap began figging, with fine white streaks running through it._

## Noun

3. White streaks or grains in soap, or their development, which occur naturally in some soaps and were once thought a sign of quality, so they were sometimes imitated artificially. *(dated)*
   - Simple: White lines or tiny grains that form in some soaps, once seen as a sign of good soap.
   - _The soapmaker held the jar up to the light to check its figging._
   - _Chalk was stirred into the cheaper batches to fake the figging that buyers expected._

## Origin

**Meaning 1** — It is generally thought to come from feaguing.
**Meanings 2–3** — Formed from fig with the suffix -ing.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/figging (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).