fig leaf
"fig-leaf" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“fig leaf” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A leaf of the fig plant.
Corpus desk
Index EN-fig-leaf · fig leaf · English
fig leaf · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "F" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | fig leaf |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “fig leaf” in English
Rare enough to double-check
fig leaf is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
fig leaf doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English *figge leef (attested in the plural figge leves), a partial calque of Old English fīclēaf (“fig leaf”). By surface analysis, fig + leaf. The correct English form is fig leaf, spelled F-I-G- -L-E-A-F.
Definition
- 1A leaf of the fig plant.
- 2A representation of leaf of a fig plant used to cover the genitals of a nude figure in a work of art (alluding to Genesis iii 7, in which Adam and Eve use fig leaves to hide their nakedness).
- 3Anything used to conceal something undesirable or that one does not want to be discovered.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how fig leaf appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
This figleaf morality expresses a very unhealthy mental attitude.
True, David Brog, one of the organizers of last week’s conference, insisted that national conservatives are not anti-immigrant. But this is a fig leaf. [University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy] Wax explicitly made an argument for limiting the number of nonwhites entering the US.
Etymology
From Middle English *figge leef (attested in the plural figge leves), a partial calque of Old English fīclēaf (“fig leaf”). By surface analysis, fig + leaf.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.