συκοφάντης

Sycophant comes from Greek sykophantēs, from sykon (fig) + phainein (to show). The literal meaning is 'one who shows figs.' What this actually referred to has been debated for over two thousand years. The most common theory: in ancient Athens, exporting figs was allegedly illegal, and a sykophantēs was an informer who reported fig smugglers. The story is probably folk etymology. No reliable source confirms a fig export ban.

What is documented is that sykophantēs in Athenian legal vocabulary meant a malicious prosecutor — someone who brought frivolous lawsuits against wealthy citizens for personal profit. Athenian courts allowed any citizen to prosecute, and sycophants exploited this by threatening prosecution unless paid off. The word described a legal extortionist, not a flatterer. The modern meaning of 'obsequious toady' is a later development.

The shift from malicious prosecutor to flattering toady happened gradually in Latin and then in English. By the time English borrowed the word in the sixteenth century, 'sycophant' had already traveled from fig-showing to legal harassment to general dishonesty to servile flattery. Each step moved the word further from its incomprehensible origin and closer to its current meaning.

The fig remains unexplained. Some scholars connect it to an obscene gesture involving the thumb between two fingers (making a fig). Others suggest that informers 'showed the fig' — revealed hidden contraband. None of these theories is conclusive. The word's origin is one of the great unsolved puzzles of Greek etymology.