Dictionary

fig leaf en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English *figge leef (attested in the plural figge leves), a partial calque of Old English fīclēaf (“fig leaf”). By surface analysis, fig + leaf.

Meanings

1. A leaf of the fig plant.
2. A representation of leaf of a fig plant used to cover the genitals of a nude figure in a work of art (alluding to Genesis iii 7, in which Adam and Eve use fig leaves to hide their nakedness).
   • This figleaf morality expresses a very unhealthy mental attitude. 1965, Attila Zohar, Kings Cross Black Magic, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, page 107:
3. (figuratively) Anything used to conceal something undesirable or that one does not want to be discovered.
   • In fact, speaking of paedos, the prime minister chose to use one as a figleaf. 2022 February 1, Marina Hyde, “Never mind wine fridges, the Tory party is drunk on Kool-Aid”, in The Guardian:
   • True, David Brog, one of the organizers of last week’s conference, insisted that national conservatives are not anti-immigrant. But this is a fig leaf. [University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy] Wax explicitly made an argument for limiting the number of nonwhites entering the US. 2019 July 24, David Austin Walsh, “Flirting With Fascism”, in Jewish Currents:

Forms

Deriveds

fig-leaf squash · fig-leaved · fig-leafed · figleaf · fig-leaf gourd

Translations (43)

sv fikonlöv (leaf of the fig plant) · el συκή (leaf covering genitals in a work of art) · fi viikunanlehti (leaf covering genitals in a work of art) · da figenblad (anything intended to conceal something undesirable) · ga duilleog fige (leaf of the fig plant) · pl listek figowy (anything intended to conceal something undesirable) · es hoja de higo (leaf of the fig plant) · fr feuille de vigne (leaf covering genitals in a work of art) · hy թուզի տերև (leaf of the fig plant) · nb fikenblad (leaf of the fig plant) · sv fikonlöv (anything intended to conceal something undesirable) · de Feigenblatt (leaf of the fig plant) · fr feuille de figuier (leaf of the fig plant) · it foglia di fico (anything intended to conceal something undesirable) · it foglia di fico (leaf covering genitals in a work of art) · cy deilen ffigys (leaf of the fig plant) · fi viikunanlehti (anything intended to conceal something undesirable) · pl listek figowy (leaf covering genitals in a work of art) · nb fikenblad (leaf covering genitals in a work of art) · ru фи́говый листо́к (leaf of the fig plant) · el συκή (anything intended to conceal something undesirable) · el συκή (leaf of the fig plant) · eu pikuondo-hosto (leaf of the fig plant) · da figenblad (leaf of the fig plant) · de Feigenblatt (anything intended to conceal something undesirable) · ga seift (anything intended to conceal something undesirable) · ru фи́говый листо́к (leaf covering genitals in a work of art) · fr feuille de figuier (leaf covering genitals in a work of art) · nl vijgenblad (leaf of the fig plant) · nb fikenblad (anything intended to conceal something undesirable) · he עֲלֵה תְּאֵנָה (anything intended to conceal something undesirable) · it foglia di fico (leaf of the fig plant) · de Feigenblatt (leaf covering genitals in a work of art) · es hoja de higo (leaf covering genitals in a work of art) · ru фи́говый листо́к (anything intended to conceal something undesirable) · cmn 遮羞布 (anything intended to conceal something undesirable) · he עֲלֵה תְּאֵנָה (leaf covering genitals in a work of art) · eu mahatsondo-hosto (leaf of the fig plant) · da figenblad (leaf covering genitals in a work of art) · sv fikonlöv (leaf covering genitals in a work of art) · fi viikunanlehti (leaf of the fig plant) · he עֲלֵה תְּאֵנָה (leaf of the fig plant) · ca fulla de figuera (leaf of the fig plant)