Fag - the evolution of a word

In 17th century England, fagging appeared in British public schools and other boarding schools. This was a custom of initiation whereby new boys had to fag — drudge, wear themselves out — by acting as servants for older and more experienced boys. These menials became known as fags. The fact that the custom involved a whiff of feudalism meant fagging for someone afforded a certain level of protection and assistance in return.

The word fag is derived from the Latin fatigo, which means to grow weary. Contemporary usage of the word in the UK reflects the same idea. To fag away at something is to work hard, to exhaust oneself, and a fag is still used to describe a difficult job that requires a lot of energy — something one must “fag away at.”

By WWI, as the poster shows, fag had come into use in British slang to mean a cigarette. This usage spread to Ireland, Australia, and North America. A shortened form of the archaic word faggot — a bundle of firewood sticks, — it may have originally alluded to the cylindrical shape of sticks of wood, or the fact that both were used for burning.

About half a century ago, North Americans began to use the word fag (or faggot) as a homophobic insult. For a few years, this rude slang took hold. However, society gradually grew less tolerant of the casual use of such slurs. In 2011, National Public Radio in the US reported that the NBA got tough with basketballers who called others fags or faggots. That year, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers was fined $100,000 for hurling the term at a referee. A month later, Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls had to pay a fine of $50,000 for using the same insult against a basketball fan.

Unsurprisingly, in Canada, the US, and to gradually in Australia too, the of fag to mean cigarette declined as it came into wider use as a slur.

However, in Ireland and the UK, the word is still used to refer to a cigarette. Smokers take fag breaks, and some of them may still “bum fags” from fellow-smokers.