SYCOPHANT


Meaning of SYCOPHANT in English

[ 'sɪkəfant ]

■ noun a toady; a servile flatterer.

Derivatives

sycophancy noun

~ic adjective

~ically adverb

Word History

A ~ was originally an informer, which is the meaning of the original Greek word sukophantēs . This was formed, oddly, from sukon 'fig' and phainein 'to show'. One theory for this connects the word to people who informed against those exporting figs from ancient Athens, which was illegal. Another suggests it derives from the insulting gesture known as the fig , made by thrusting the thumb between two closed fingers; the informer was effectively 'giving the fig' to the criminals he informed against.

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.