<P> In Greek the gesture was known as the katapygon (κατάπυγον, from kata--κατά, "downwards" and pugē--πυγή, "rump, buttocks"). In ancient Greek comedy, the finger was a gesture of insult toward another person, with the term katapugon also referring to "a male who submits to anal penetration" or katapygaina to a female . In Aristophanes's comedy The Clouds (423 BC), when the character Socrates is quizzing his student on poetic meters, Strepsiades declares that he knows quite well what a dactyl is, and gives the finger . The gesture is a visual pun on the two meanings of the Greek word dactylos, both "finger" and the rhythmic measure composed of a long syllable and two short, like the joints of a finger (, which also appears as a visual pun on the penis and testicles in a medieval Latin text). Socrates reacts to the gesture as boorish and childish . The gesture recurs as a form of mockery in Peace, alongside farting in someone's face; the usage is later explained in the Suda and included in the Adagia of Erasmus . The verb "to play the Siphnian" appears in a fragment of Aristophanes and has a similar meaning; the usage is once again explained in the Suda, where it is said to mean "to touch the anus with a finger". Diogenes Laërtius records how the Cynic philosopher Diogenes of Sinope directed the gesture at the orator Demosthenes in 4th - century BC Athens . In the Discourses of Epictetus, Diogenes's target is instead one of the sophists . </P> <P> In Latin, the middle finger was the digitus impudicus, meaning the "shameless, indecent or offensive finger". In the 1st century AD, Persius had superstitious female relatives concoct a charm with the "infamous finger" (digitus infamis) and "purifying spit"; while in the Satyricon, an old woman uses dust, spit and her middle finger to mark the forehead before casting a spell . The poet Martial has a character in good health extend "the indecent one" toward three doctors . In another epigram, Martial wrote: "Laugh loud, Sextillus, at whoever calls you a cinaedus and extend your middle finger ." Juvenal, through synecdoche, has the "middle nail" cocked at threatening Fortuna . The indecent finger features again in a mocking context in the Priapeia, a collection of poems relating to the phallic god Priapus . In Late Antiquity, the term "shameless finger" is explained in the Etymologiae of Isidore of Seville with reference to its frequent use when accusing someone of a "shameful action". </P> <P> Linguist Jesse Sheidlower traces the gesture's development in the United States to the 1890s . According to anthropologist Desmond Morris, the gesture probably came to the United States via Italian immigrants . The first documented appearance of the finger in the United States was in 1886, when Old Hoss Radbourn, a baseball pitcher for the Boston Beaneaters, was photographed giving it to a member of their rival the New York Giants . In the film Speedy (1928), Harold Lloyd's character gives himself the finger into a distorting mirror at Luna Park, about 24 minutes into the film . </P> <P> The gesture has been involved in notable political events . During the USS Pueblo incident, in which an American ship was captured by North Korea, the captured American crewmembers often discreetly gave the finger in staged photo ops, thus ruining the North Koreans' efforts at propaganda . The North Koreans, ignorant of what the gesture meant, were at first told by the prisoners that it was a "Hawaiian good luck sign", similar to the shaka . When the guards finally figured things out, the crewmembers were subjected to extremely severe beatings . Abbie Hoffman used the gesture at the 1968 Democratic National Convention . Ronald Reagan, while serving as the Governor of California, gave the middle finger to counterculture protestors in Berkeley, California . Nelson Rockefeller, then the Vice President of the United States, directed the gesture to hecklers at a 1976 campaign stop near Binghamton, New York, leading it to be called the "Rockefeller gesture". Pierre Trudeau, then the Prime Minister of Canada, gave the finger to protesters in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, earning the incident the nickname the "Salmon Arm salute". The gesture itself has also been nicknamed the "Trudeau salute". Former president George W. Bush gave the finger to the camera at an Austin production facility during his term as governor of Texas, saying it was "just a one - finger victory salute ." Anthony Weiner gave the finger to reporters after leaving his election headquarters the night he lost the 2013 primary election for Mayor of New York City . </P>

Where does the phrase flipping the bird come from