faggot
faggot Lexical Profile
faggot Game Scores & Validity
• noun
(Vulgar slang, offensive, derogatory) A contemptuous term used as a slur for a gay man.
"The league imposed an immediate suspension on the player for directing an anti-gay slur at an official."
A bundle of sticks, twigs, or small branches bound together and used as fuel, fascines, or in ironworking (historically and in American English also spelled 'fagot').
"The villagers gathered fallen branches in the forest and tied each faggot securely with twine before winter arrived."
British A traditional savory meatball made from minced pork offal (especially liver, heart, and fatty belly meat) mixed with herbs, breadcrumbs, and onion, wrapped in caul fat and baked.
"The traditional pub in the Welsh valleys served homemade pork faggots with mushy peas and rich onion gravy."
• verb
To bind or tie up into a bundle or faggot (especially cut branches, twigs, or metal rods for forging).
"The woodcutters worked until dusk to faggot the pruned orchard branches for the estate's hearths."
To ornament or join fabric with decorative openwork stitching in which threads are drawn together in small hourglass-like bundles.
"The seamstress decided to faggot the collar seam to give the linen blouse a delicate, vintage finish."
Word Nuance & Usage
In contemporary North American and global English, the word is primarily recognized as a highly offensive derogatory slur against gay men; however, in British regional usage it remains a neutral culinary term for a traditional seasoned pork meatball, and in historical contexts it refers literally to a bundle of firewood (often spelled 'fagot' in American English).
• Rhymes for faggot
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 13th century from Old French 'fagot' ('bundle of sticks'), of uncertain ultimate origin but possibly connected to Vulgar Latin *facus or Ancient Greek 'phakelos' ('bundle').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.