From botany to linguistics: the meaning of the idiom "fig leaf"

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

The older generation, brought up on the works of the classics of Marxism-Leninism, is well acquainted with the meaning of the idiom "fig leaf". Its meaning is a feigned, hypocritical disguise of true circumstances and intentions. The leader of the world proletariat has repeatedly characterized the hostile position of the liberals and the bourgeoisie, using this biting expression.

The meaning of the phraseologism "fig leaf" is suitable not only for political rhetoric. The expression will come to the aid of everyone who wants to make speech brighter and more figurative, especially since there are nuances in the semantics of this phrase. It can be used when someone is trying to hide dishonest intentions under the guise of truthfulness, as well as when it comes to the desire behind the screen of decency to cover up indecent, shameful behavior, lifestyle.

Let's understand the terminology

Phraseologism is a stable language expression, with the participation of which speech acquires special expressiveness. The phrase is called stable because the lexemes themselves do not reflect the meaningphraseologism. The fig leaf is no exception. However, in order to understand how the expression turned into a capacious speech turnover, it is still necessary to find out how botany served linguistics.

What is a fig leaf and how did it get into a figure of speech

From a scientific point of view, this is the name of the fig plant organ (other names are figs, figs). The large carved leaves of this southern tree reach 25 cm in length. They became famous for the fact that in Eden they became the first clothes of the progenitors of the human race - Eve and Adam. According to the biblical story, the first people made themselves "aprons" from fig leaves after they succumbed to the temptation to obey the devil, who turned into a serpent. The Fall made Adam and Eve ashamed of their own nakedness and quickly covered it up. As you can see, the meaning of the phraseological unit "fig leaf" is closely related to this story. The expression reinterprets the event, raising it to a metaphor.

No others found?

Why did a couple from Eden use leaves from a fig tree and not some other? There are reasons for this. Eve, taught by the serpent, plucked the fruit for herself and Adam from the fig tree, so it was logical to use its leaves as well. Perhaps they were the largest and most beautiful in Paradise and were best suited for clothing. There is another version of why these leaves appear in the Bible. Artist Amy Marsh proposes a theory according to which the organic tissues of figs contain a specific enzyme that causes severe skin irritation. It turns out that putting on a fig leaf is like being punished, which will not let you forget about your sin for a moment.

In art

Since the 16th century, under the influence of the Church, the image of a fig leaf piously replaced the image of the genitals on a naked body in art. Greco-Roman statues, inherited by the Middle Ages from unconstrained Antiquity, were subjected to massive “castration”. After painstaking work with a hammer and a chisel, the executors of the papal will carefully covered the empty place with a stone fig leaf. This once again confirms the meaning of the phraseological unit.