fag 1 |fag|
noun [in sing. ] informal chiefly Brit.
a tiring or unwelcome task : it's too much of a fag to drive all the way there and back again.
• Brit. a junior pupil at a private preparatory school who works and runs errands for a senior pupil.
verb ( fagged |føgd|, fagging |føgɪŋ|) [ intrans. ] Brit., informal
work hard, esp. at a tedious job or task : he didn't have to fag away in a lab to get the right answer.
• Brit. (of a pupil at a private preparatory school) work and run errands for a senior pupil.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (as a verb in the sense [grow weary] ): of unknown origin. Compare with flag 1 .
fag 2 |føg| |fag|
noun informal chiefly offensive
a male homosexual. See usage at queer .
DERIVATIVES
faggy adjective
ORIGIN 1920s: short for faggot .
fag 3 |føg|
noun Brit., informal
a cigarette.
ORIGIN late 19th cent.: elliptically from fag end .