In modern times, a derogatory slang referring to a homosexual.
Begining in the 14th century, the word 'faggot' referred to a bundle of sticks used for fuel. By the late 16th century the term
could be used to specifically apply to the fuel used to burn heretics, and heretics who recanted were required to wear an emroidered
symbol of faggots on their sleeves. The OED dates from 1591 a slang use of 'faggot' as a term of abuse or contempt applied to a woman.
The verb 'to faggot' meant to bundle sticks but later also came to mean to recant. A 19th century instance of the verb is given to
describe a man in the wrestling ring 'who sells his back'.
Additionally, 'fag' was a generalized derogatory term for anything that nobody wanted, originally the torn, frayed end of a rope, or,
by extension, a cigarette butt that someone threw away but could be picked up and puffed a few more times (sort of like a marijuana
joint that had been around several times and needed to be held in a roach clip). The term also came to refer to menial work that
nobody wanted to do, and so was left for the most socially unacceptable people to do. It then was used as a verb to refer to making
a servant do a series of unpleasant chores (cleaning stables etc.). When one were done with these, one were "all fagged out."
Then the term was adopted to refer to the 19th-20th-century British public school system policy where upperclass students 'fagged'
younger and socially inferior students by making them do anything they chose to do. There always was an element of sadistic hazing
in this policy, and homosexual rape was not uncommon, as these schools were for males only and sexual frustration was rife. So being
someone's 'fag' literally meant being a public school underling, which exposed you to rape; hence the derogatory sense of the term.
'Faggot' has a different history, going through French, Latin, and Greek, but always meaning 'a bundle of wood.' One can guess that
the '-got' ending influenced the slang term, but the two don't seem to cross paths until the 20th century.
Begining in the 14th century, the word 'faggot' referred to a bundle of sticks used for fuel. By the late 16th century the term
could be used to specifically apply to the fuel used to burn heretics, and heretics who recanted were required to wear an emroidered
symbol of faggots on their sleeves. The OED dates from 1591 a slang use of 'faggot' as a term of abuse or contempt applied to a woman.
The verb 'to faggot' meant to bundle sticks but later also came to mean to recant. A 19th century instance of the verb is given to
describe a man in the wrestling ring 'who sells his back'.