Fig sign
The fig sign is a mildly obscene gesture used at least since the Roman Age in Italy, Southern Europe, parts of the Mediterranean region, including in Turkish culture, and has also been adopted by Slavic cultures and South Africa. The gesture uses a thumb wedged in between two fingers. This gesture is most commonly used to ward off the evil eye, insult someone, or deny a request. It is used in countries such as the UK, Australia, Argentina, France, The Netherlands and Czech Republic to pretend taking the nose off a child. Because of its origins in Southern  Europe or Latin Europe, the gesture was imported to Latin America. In ancient Rome, the fig sign, or , was made by the to ward off the evil spirits of the dead as a part of the Lemuria ritual. The hand gesture may have originated in ancient Indian culture to depict the lingam and yoni. Among early Christians, it was known as the , or 'obscene hand'. The letter "T" in the American manual alphabet is very similar to this gesture. The word sycophant comes from the Ancient Greek word συκοφάντης (sykophántēs), meaning "one who shows or reveals figs"; though there is  no unequivocal explanation as to the reason why sycophants in Ancient Greece were so called, one explanation is that the sycophant, by making false accusations, insulted the defendant in a manner analogous to making the fig sign.