fig

/fɪg/

/fɪg/

Other forms: figs; figged; figging

A fig is a flowering tree that grows in warm climates. The fruit that grows on a fig is also called a fig.

The fig, or fig tree, is happiest in dry, sunny climates like those in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region. The figs that grow on these trees is very sweet, with a green skin that ripens to a purple, brown, or yellowish color. An interesting quirk of the fig is that it needs a specific type of wasp for pollination in order to produce seeds. The Latin root of fig is ficus.

Definitions of fig

1. noun

   Mediterranean tree widely cultivated for its edible fruit
   synonyms: Ficus carica, common fig, common fig tree

   types:

   Ficus carica sylvestris, caprifig

   wild variety of the common fig used to facilitate pollination of certain figs

   type of:

   fig tree

   any moraceous tree of the tropical genus Ficus; produces a closed pear-shaped receptacle that becomes fleshy and edible when mature
2. noun

   fleshy sweet pear-shaped yellowish or purple multiple fruit eaten fresh or preserved or dried
   type of:

   edible fruit

   edible reproductive body of a seed plant especially one having sweet flesh
3. noun

   a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
   synonyms: figure

   type of:

   illustration

   artwork that helps make something clear or attractive