Word
faggot
Phoneticsfag·got
US/ˈfæɡət/
UK/fˈæɡət/
Definitions
02a meatball
n. a traditional British food made from pieces of meat (usually pork) mixed with herbs and breadcrumbs.
n. a traditional British culinary dish consisting of meatballs made from minced offal, especially pork liver and heart, mixed with herbs.
“We had traditional faggots with mashed potatoes and peas for dinner.”
“The butcher sold handmade faggots wrapped in caul fat, prepared according to a traditional regional recipe from the West Midlands.”
British English
Usage
Usually used in the plural when referring to the food item.
Synonyms
03a bundle of sticks
n. a group of sticks or branches tied together to be used as fuel for a fire.
n. a bundle of sticks, twigs, or branches bound together and used as fuel or in construction.
“The old man carried a heavy faggot of wood back to his cottage.”
“Historical accounts describe how faggots were piled high to create the massive bonfires used for signaling between hilltop beacons.”
Archaic · British English
Teaching tip
This sense is largely historical or literary; in modern speech, 'bundle of sticks' is preferred to avoid confusion with the slur.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English fagot, from Old French fagot (“bundle of sticks”), of uncertain origin. Unlikely from Old Occitan fagot or Italian fagotto, as these appear later than the Old French term. Compare also Italian fangotto and Spanish fajo (“bundle, wad”). Perhaps from a diminutive of Vulgar Latin *facus, from Ancient Greek φάκελος (phákelos, “bundle of wood”). The senses relating to persons, though possibly originating as an extension of the sense "bundle of sticks" (compare baggage), may have been reinforced by fag, from fagging and/or by faygele, from Yiddish פֿייגעלע (feygele, “homosexual”, literally “little bird”), related to English fowl.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.