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156 results for: fetish

Dictionary Entries (10 more entries. View all »)
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source
fet·ish    Audio Help   [fet-ish, fee-tish] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.an object regarded with awe as being the embodiment or habitation of a potent spirit or as having magical potency.
2.any object, idea, etc., eliciting unquestioning reverence, respect, or devotion: to make a fetish of high grades.
3.Psychology. any object or nongenital part of the body that causes a habitual erotic response or fixation.
Also, fetich.

[Origin: 1605–15; earlier fateish < Pg feitiço charm, sorcery (n.), artificial (adj.) < L factīcius factitious; r. fatisso, fetisso < Pg, as above]

—Related forms
fet·ish·like, adjective

—Synonyms 1. talisman, amulet.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Thesaurus Entries
  Roget's II: The New Thesaurus - Cite This Source
Main Entry:  charm
Part of Speech:  noun
Definition:  A small object worn or kept for its supposed magical power.
Synonyms:  amulet, juju, periapt, phylactery, talisman
Source:  Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition
by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary.
Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

  Roget's II: The New Thesaurus - Cite This Source
Main Entry:  thing
Part of Speech:  noun
Definition:  An irrational preoccupation.
Synonyms:  fixation, mania, obsession
Source:  Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition
by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary.
Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.


Encyclopedia Articles (142 more entries. View all »)
Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia - Cite This Source

fetish, inanimate object believed to possess some magical power. The fetish may be a natural thing, such as a stone, a feather, a shell, or the claw of an animal, or it may be artificial, such as carvings in wood. The power of the fetish is thought to derive its efficacy from one of two sources. In some cases the object is said to have a will of its own; in others the source of power comes from the belief that a god dwells within the object and has transformed it into an instrument of his desires. Closely related to the idea of the power of a fetish is the notion of taboo. Here the power within the fetish is thought to be so strong that it is extremely dangerous and may be handled only by special individuals, if at all. Any object of irrational or superstitious devotion may be called a fetish.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004, Columbia University Press.
Licensed from Columbia University Press


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