Lost Word Of The Day (12)

Ficulnean was an adjective used in the early 18th century to denote something made of fig wood and by extension something that was worthless.

Figs have been long associated with something worthless, as in not worth a fig. The origin of this curious association lies with a Spanish gesture of contempt, known as Fico (the Spanish word for a fig). The thumb was placed between the first and second fingers, an Iberian equivalent of our V-sign, and in Tudor times it was known as The Fig of Spain. After that, there was no road to redemption for the fig.