In the book, The Finger: The Comprehensive Guide to Flipping Off, Matt Patterson demonstrates that this gesture can be traced to the ancient Greeks, 2000 years earlier.
As infants, even before we can speak, we learn to express our feelings by imitating the gestures of others. These might range from a hand in the mouth, to a wild arm-flail. Either way, we’re still communicating with gestures.
The word “gesture” comes from the Latin word gerere, which means to comport, or show oneself.
The central digit of either hand, firmly upturned and thrust emphatically, never fails to hit the bull’s eye. In the wake of political correctness, when thoughts are considered dangerous, the finger stands alone.
The finger was an extremely strong insult, and has only become socially tolerable in recent times. As John Bulwer noted in his 1644 book Chirologia: of the Naturall Language of the Hand, many ancients warned against using it for any reason as they felt the finger was not only deeply insulting.
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Listen to Sean's hiostory lesson on this ubiquitous gesture:
