Fag has several different meanings. One meaning of fag is an American English slang word for a homosexual man and is seen to be very derogatory. Another way in which the word fag is used is to name a junior boy at a public school who acts as a servant to a senior boy, known as fagging. Probably the most common meaning of the word fag is cigarette in which it is a colloquialism.
Fagging was a traditional educational practice in British boarding private schools and nearly all public schools in the England and also many other boarding schools, where younger pupils were required to act as personal servants to the most senior boys. While domestic servants were common in family households, the custom reflected household task distribution and taught pupils about service from both ends of the relationship. Under school rules, fagging might entail harsh discipline and corporal punishment when those were standard practices. Fagging was sometimes associated with sexual abuse at the hands of these older boys. The practice of personal fagging faded away during the 1970s and 1980s, but to some degree has been maintained in former colonies or has been replaced by systems which require junior boys to do tasks for the benefit of the general school community. In England, the word "fag" became slang for a wearisome chore. It was also a punishment for younger children.
However today as stated before fag is most commonly used as a colloquialism of cigarette. A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well. Most modern manufactured cigarettes are filtered and include reconstituted tobacco and other additives.
Fagging was a traditional educational practice in British boarding private schools and nearly all public schools in the England and also many other boarding schools, where younger pupils were required to act as personal servants to the most senior boys. While domestic servants were common in family households, the custom reflected household task distribution and taught pupils about service from both ends of the relationship. Under school rules, fagging might entail harsh discipline and corporal punishment when those were standard practices. Fagging was sometimes associated with sexual abuse at the hands of these older boys. The practice of personal fagging faded away during the 1970s and 1980s, but to some degree has been maintained in former colonies or has been replaced by systems which require junior boys to do tasks for the benefit of the general school community. In England, the word "fag" became slang for a wearisome chore. It was also a punishment for younger children.
However today as stated before fag is most commonly used as a colloquialism of cigarette. A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well. Most modern manufactured cigarettes are filtered and include reconstituted tobacco and other additives.
