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The origins of the word in this preceding sense are rather obscure. The word faggot has also been used in English since the late 16th Century to mean "old or unpleasant woman," and the modern use may well derive from this.[1] Female terms, it should be noted, are often used with reference to homosexual or effeminate men (cf. nancy, sissy, queen). The application of the term to old women is possibly a shortening of the term "faggot-gatherer", applied in the 19th Century to people, especially older widows, who made a meagre living by gathering and selling firewood.[2] It may also derive from the sense of "something awkward to be carried" (compare the use of the word "baggage" as a pejorative term for old people in general).[3]
It is sometimes claimed that the modern slang meaning developed from the standard meaning of "faggot" as "bundle of sticks for burning," presumably with reference to burning at the stake.[3] This is unlikely to be the case[3], but if true, is comparable to Italian "finocchio," which literally translates as "fennel", but is used in Italian in a sense very close to modern English "faggot"[citation needed]. It is popularly assumed that this use of "finocchio" originated in the time of the Holy Inquisition, when fennel was apparently thrown on persons burned at the stake to mitigate the stench of burned flesh.[citation needed] Nevertheless, there is no tradition of burning at the stake being used as a punishment for homosexuality in Britain[4], although supposed witches and heretics were burnt to death in many parts of Europe, and were often accused of homosexual behaviour.[5]
The Yiddish word faygele, lit. "little bird", is also claimed by some as an explanation for the modern use of "faggot." The similarity between the two words makes it a reasonable possibility that it might at least have had a reinforcing effect.[4]
An obsolete reference to faggot from 17th Century Britain refers to a "man hired into military service simply to fill out the ranks at muster."[3]
Use in Britain

Originally confined to the United States, the homosexual sense of "fag" and "faggot" has been spread by American popular culture to other English-speaking countries, where it has partly displaced terms such as "queer" or the British term "poof" as abusive terms for gay men, particularly among heterosexual youth. However, the continuing use of "fag" and "faggot" with other meanings in the British isles has severely limited adoption of the American usage there.
The use of fag and faggot as the term for an effeminate man has become understood as an Americanism in British English, primarily due to their use in films and television series imported from the United States. When Labour MP Bob Marshall-Andrews was heard supposedly using the word in a bad-tempered informal exchange with a straight colleague in the House of Commons lobby in November 2005, he was criticised for using homophobic abuse.[6][7]
Earliest written uses

The earliest known reference to the word in print was in the 1914 Jackson and Hellyer A Vocabulary of Criminal Slang, with Some Examples of Common Usages which listed the following example under the word, drag:
"All the fagots (sissies) will be dressed in drag at the ball tonight."
The word was also used by a character in Claude McKay's 1928 novel Home to Harlem, indicating that it was used during the Harlem Renaissance. Specifically, one character says that he can't understand:
"a bulldyking woman and a faggoty man"