In Western culture

Western culture

Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...

, the finger (as in giving someone the finger or the bird), also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture

Gesture

A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of speech or together and in parallel with spoken words. Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body...

, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" ("screw off"), "fuck

Fuck

"Fuck" is an English word that is generally considered obscene which, in its most literal meaning, refers to the act of sexual intercourse. By extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed."Fuck" can be used as a verb, adverb,...

 you" ("screw you") or "up yours". It is performed by showing the back of a closed fist that has only the middle finger extended upwards.

Origin

In Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...

 it was known as the κατάπυγον (katapugon, from kata - κατά, "downwards" and pugē - πυγή, "rump, buttocks") and reference is made to using the finger in ancient Greek comedy

Ancient Greek comedy

Ancient Greek comedy was one of the final three principal dramatic forms in the theatre of classical Greece . Athenian comedy is conventionally divided into three periods, Old Comedy, Middle Comedy, and New Comedy...

 to insult

Insult

An insult is an expression, statement which is considered degrading and offensive. Insults may be intentional or accidental...

 another person, where the term katapugon also meant "a male (or a female, katapugaina) who submits to anal penetration". It is identified as the digitus impudicus (impudent finger) in Ancient Roman writings and the widespread usage of the finger in many cultures is likely due to the geographical influence of the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 and Greco-Roman civilization

Greco-Roman world

The Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman culture, or the term Greco-Roman , when used as an adjective, as understood by modern scholars and writers, refers to those geographical regions and countries that culturally were directly, protractedly and intimately influenced by the language, culture,...

.
Another possible origin of this gesture

Gesture

A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of speech or together and in parallel with spoken words. Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body...

 can be found in the first-century Mediterranean world, where extending the finger was one of many methods used to divert the ever-present threat of the evil eye

Evil eye

The evil eye is a look that is believed by many cultures to be able to cause injury or bad luck for the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or dislike...

offense.

Other names

The gesture has also been referred to flipping, flicking off (sometimes flashing or flying) the bird; or it could be flipping somebody off.

External links

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