A person who acts obsequiously toward someone important to gain advantage — a flatterer with an agenda.
From Greek sykophantes (informer, false accuser), possibly from sykon (fig) + phainein (to show). The most colorful theory: it originally meant someone who informed on illegal fig exports from Athens. A petty snitch became the word for a professional flatterer.
Sycophant may literally mean "fig-shower" — someone who reported their neighbors for illegally exporting figs from Athens. From petty snitch to professional flatterer in 2,500 years. The word's journey from figs to flattery is one of etymology's strangest road trips.
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