Fag (personal servant) - Definition and Overview

In British English, the word "fag" was used (as a verb and a noun) to refer to a kind of apprenticeship practiced within public schools. Younger boys within the school "fagged" for the older boys by cooking breakfasts, cleaning sports kit or other menial tasks.

The term fag in this sense derived from the sense "flagging in energy due to having performed strenuous menial labour," as in "I'm all fagged out." Violence, bullying and sexual abuse were sometimes associated with fagging. As public schools have become more exposed to public scrutiny, fear of litigation has caused the practice of fagging to be banned in most schools.