iron fist

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

iron fist (plural iron fists)

1. (figuratively, idiomatic) Ruthless and usually unrestricted control.

   Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union with an iron fist.

2. Symbol of an army's tank or cavalry branch.

Synonyms

• (ruthless control): iron hand, iron heel, despotism, totalitarianism, autocracy, monocracy, fascism, dictatorship
• (symbol): armoured fist, armored fist, mailed fist

Related terms

• ironfisted / iron-fisted

Translations

ruthless control

• Arabic: قُبْضَة حَدِيدِيَّة f (qubḍa ḥadīdiyya)
• Cebuano: kamot nga puthaw
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鐵腕／铁腕 (zh) (tiěwàn), 鐵拳／铁拳 (zh) (tiěquán)

• Czech: železná ruka f
• Danish: jernnæve c, jernhånd c
• Dutch: ijzeren vuist
• Esperanto: fera mano
• Finnish: teräksinen ote (figurative), rautakoura (fi)
• French: main de fer (fr) f
• German: eiserne Hand f, eiserne Faust f
• Greek: σιδηρά πυγμή f (sidirá pygmí)
• Hungarian: vasököl (hu)
• Italian: pugno di ferro (it) m
• Japanese: 圧政 (ja) (あっせい, assei), 圧制 (ja) (あっせい, assei)
• Kazakh: темір жұдырық (temır jūdyryq)
• Korean: 폭정 (ko) (pokjeong), 압제 (ko) (apje)
• Lithuanian: geležinis kumštis m
• Malay: kuku besi
• Mongolian: төмөр нударга (tömör nudarga)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: jernhånd m or f

  Nynorsk: jernhand f

• Portuguese: punho de ferro m
• Romanian: mână de fier f
• Russian: желе́зный кула́к m (želéznyj kulák), желе́зная рука́ (ru) f (želéznaja ruká) (iron hand)
• Slovak: železná päsť
• Spanish: mano dura f, puño de hierro, ordeno y mando
• Swedish: järnhand (sv) c
• Tagalog: kamay na bakal
• Vietnamese: bàn tay thép

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