Etymology Lesson For Bigots

In ancient Etruscan society, and later in Rome, the Fasces, a bundle of wooden rods with an axe blade passed through, was used as a symbol of power. It continued to be used in heraldry even after the physical item became outdated. In fact, the term fascism, government deriving power from a strong, central leader, militarism, and conquest, is based on this symbol. Interestingly, the United States also uses the Fasces in a wide variety of places such as the symbol of the National Guard, and decorative motifs in the Oval Office, chambers of Congress, and the Lincoln Memorial. This is particularly appropriate because it's believed that the Fasces used a fascis, or bundle of rods, as opposed to a single shaft, to demonstrate strength in unity. Works pretty well for a country which had the original motto of E pluribus unum (Out of many, one), don't you think?

Later, in the 16th century, it wasn't uncommon for an elderly woman with no husband, family, or other means of support to resort to collecting sticks in order to sell the bundles and thus make a living. In Rome those bundles would have been called fascis (or whatever the latin plural is), but because English is a bastard language and so many of our words are mispronunciations of the originals, those bundles of sticks instead were called faggots. The faggot gatherer, being generally scorned and considered relatively useless, became a symbol of the dregs of feminine society. A woman might be called a faggot gatherer as an offensive means of expressing the said woman's social worth. As time moved on, the "gatherer" half was dropped and the woman would just be called a faggot. With the tendency of English speaking societies to consider homosexual men as more feminine, it should come as no surprise then that a derogatory term meant for women would also be adopted for use towards gays. Eventually, any ties of the word to women were forgotten and it became a slur exclusively for gay men. However, this appears to be the case mostly just in the US. Use of the term in media has broadened its influence to other countries, but only just recently. For example, in the UK the term "fag" still refers to a cigarette and is thus much closer to the original definition of a bundle of sticks. 

So, now that you have a little background, the next time you call someone a fag you'll at least know why. Jackass!