Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To feign; dissemble; flatter.
  • To move about in a quick, uneasy way; be constantly in motion; be restless; fidget; be nervous.
  • To hurry away.
  • To give trouble to; vex; perplex.
  • noun Restlessness or agitation caused by trifling annoyance.
  • noun Any trifling peculiarity in regard to work which causes unnecessary trouble; teasing exactness of operation.
  • noun A fig.
  • noun A sore place on the foot.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun See fyke.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive, intransitive To feign; dissemble; flatter.
  • noun obsolete A fig.
  • noun A sore place on the foot.
  • verb intransitive To move about in a quick, uneasy way; be constantly in motion.
  • verb transitive To give trouble to; vex; perplex.
  • noun Restlessness or agitation caused by trifling annoyance.
  • noun Any trifling peculiarity in regard to work which causes unnecessary trouble; teasing exactness of operation.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English fiken ("to feign, dissemble, flatter"), from Old English fician ("to wheedle, flatter") (also found in compound befician ("to deceive")), from Proto-Germanic *fikōnan (“to deceive”), from Proto-Indo-European *pÁig-, *peig- (“ill-meaning, evil-minded, treacherous, hostile, bad”). Related to Old English ġefic ("fraud, deceit, deception"), Old English fācen ("deceit, fraud, treachery, sin, evil, crime, blemish, fault"), Middle High German veichen ("dissembling, deceit, fraud"), Latin piget ("it irks, it annoys").

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English fike, from Old English fīc ("fig, fig-tree, fig-disease, venereal ulcer, hemorrhoids"), from Proto-Germanic *fika, *figa (“fig”), from Latin fīca, fīcus ("fig, fig-tree"). Cognate with Dutch vijg ("fig"), German Feige ("fig"), Swedish fikon ("fig"), Icelandic fikja ("ficus"). More at fig.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English fiken, fyken ("to fidget, move about restlessly, hasten away"), from Old Norse fíkjast ("to be eager or restless"), from fíka ("to climb, move"). Cognate with Scots fyke ("to move about restlessly, fidget, itch"), Norwegian fika ("to strive, take trouble"), Icelandic fikinn ("eager, greedy"). Related to fig and fidget.

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Examples

Comments

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  • I love these three from the Century:

    n. Any trifling peculiarity in regard to work which causes unnecessary trouble; teasing exactness of operation.

    n. A fig.

    n. A sore place on the foot.

    March 23, 2012