-fag

See also: fag, fág, and fàg

English

Alternative forms

(euphemistic) -friend
(euphemistic) -frog

Etymology

From fag (“homosexual man, annoying person, etc.”); compare -man. Popularized on the 4chan online community (see also Christopher "Moot" Poole's tripcode of #faggot). First attested in c. early 2000s.

For similar semantic drift in slang from derogatory to neutral, ironic or affectionate, compare some senses of bugger, cunt, etc.

Suffix

-fag

(Internet slang, originally 4chan slang, offensive, derogatory) Suffix that forms pejorative nouns, generally referring to specific types of people and sometimes used ironically or even affectionately.
- 2008 May 18, Askren [username], “Re: Is Cos and RTC violating U.S. tax law?”, in alt.religion.scientology‎^[1] (Usenet):
  I'll forward this to a few lawfags and see what he^[sic] deal is.
- 2008 July 11, Onideus Mad Hatter [username], “BTW Lego Newfag”, in rec.toys.lego‎^[2] (Usenet):
  Oh, also, using Outhouse Express...yeah, really shows off what a Usenet newfag you are, just a lil FYI for ya. You might wanna try XNews or Agent or any *REAL* news browser (not a mail client with some sloppily added extras).
- 2009 June 18, Onslaught Six [username], “Re: I really didn't study for this test”, in alt.toys.transformers‎^[3] (Usenet):
  The pathetic Usenet oldfags will cling to their pathetic, outdated and boring medium as the new-world forumites rule the Interwebs universe.

Usage notes

This highly-productive suffix is controversial and not likely to be understood properly outside of 4chan-linked and similar imageboard culture. The non-derogatory senses especially may elude many people and be taken for homophobic offense (e.g. compare popularity of normie on most social media vs. normalfag).