I am a little bit confused due to the difference between dictionaries on the verb "ficher". Can native speakers take a look?

Question

When you look up in these two dictionaries (Collins, Cambridge) the verb ficher has meanings like to file, to put on file, to record. However, Google Translate has completely different definitions like:

1. Faire pénétrer et fixer par la pointe.
2. Faire.
3. Donner, faire subir.
4. Mettre.
5. Mettre sur une fiche, des fiches.

This raises several questions:

1. Why does Google Translate not mention meanings related to "to file" at all ?
2. Why don't the other two dictionaries mention the meanings that Google Translate mentions, at all?
3. Is the difference between the dictionaries due to homonymy or is "to file" just a derivation (as you penetrate the paper and fix it to the file) ?
4. What meaning is the most common?

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EDIT

I did not notice there is a second tab in Collins dictionary, which displays similar meanings to Google Translate.

Answer 1

Ficher can have several meanings but it is not a verb we would use very much except for the colloquial use.

1- The oldest and primary meaning of ficher is faire entrer par la pointe, it comes from Latin figere which means "to plant", "to fix". Its past participle is regular: fiché. It is not used much, I can't say why, other verbs are preferred to express that meaning (mettre, enfoncer...). It is the oldest but the least used of the three meanings. As said by @PatrickT the frequency of use depends on the working environment, some jobs will tend to use it more often than others. I never use it myself and I've only heard gardeners use it.

2- The second meaning of ficher is used more often than the previous one. It is derived from the noun fiche (a "file"), it means "to file". Its past participle is regular: fiché.

It is mostly used related to police work (or intelligence agencies in general):

• Il est fiché par la police.

For everyday office work mettre en fiche is usually preferred to ficher

3- The most common use of the verb ficher nowadays is the informal one. It is used as a euphemism for foutre. There's already a very nice answer on this on FL. Its past participle is irregular: fichu.

The colloquial use of this word can be split thus:

• colloquial for faire, travailler:
  Je n'ai rien fichu de la journée. (I haven't done shit all day)

• donner, flanquer:
  il m'a fichu la trouille (he shit scared me)
  fiche-moi la paix ! (give me a break)

• être indifférent/ne pas s'intéresser à quelque chose:
  je m'en fiche (I don't give a damn)

• se moquer
  Il s'est fichu de moi parce que je me suis trompé (He took the mickey out of me 'cause I said something wrong)

After reading this you can notice that Cambridge only gives the primary meaning and Google Translate will give you a lot of separate words which don't mean much if not used in context. And as @Breakingnotsobad says in their comment "GT is not a dictionary, it's a phrase-translating tool."

Answer 2

1. Google Translate is not a dictionary. Nevertheless, mettre sur une fiche means precisely "to file". A collection of fiches is un fichier, i.e. a file.

2. Despite the different wording, the Collins gives all meanings. The Cambridge only shows one indeed but I expect that most free online dictionaries are abridged versions of paper based ones, or only provide the contents of their smallest editions. If you want the meanings of a French word, better to look first at a French dictionary like the TLFi or the Robert, and then translate back to English from the various meanings reported by it. The TLFi gives three main meanings. https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/ficher

3. To file meaning is indeed a derivation of the Latin figere. You might also add fixer to the list.

4. To stick is the less common. The remaining ones are all common, although nowadays, foutre regains the lead compared to its softer substitute ficher.