fascinum

English

Etymology

From the Latin fascinum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfæsɪnəm/

Noun

fascinum (plural fascina)

1. (historical, occult) An ivory phallus used in certain ancient erotic rites.
   • 1955, Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita:

     Here are some brides of ten compelled to seat themselves on the fascinum, the virile ivory in the temples of classical scholarship.

   • 1988, Leonard R. N. Ashley, The Amazing World of Superstition, Prophecy, Luck, Magic & Witchcraft, Random House Value Publishing, →ISBN, page 107, →ISBN:

     Today people use a four-leaf clover, the pompom from a European sailor’s hat, the fascinum (winged phallus, some of which were found in the ruins of Pompeii and seemed to have done little good there), and so on.

Latin

Alternative forms

• fascinus

Etymology

Unknown; compare Ancient Greek βάσκανος (báskanos, “sorcerer, slanderer”, adjective and noun), possibly from the same European substrate language.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈfas.ki.num/, [ˈfäs̠kɪnʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈfaʃ.ʃi.num/, [ˈfäʃːinum]

Noun

fascinum n (genitive fascinī); second declension

1. (originally) a charm, spell, witchcraft
2. (by extension) a phallus-shaped amulet worn around the neck as a preventive against witchcraft
   1. a penis, phallus, especially that of a human
   2. an artificial phallus, dildo
      • c. 27 CE – 66 CE, Petronius, Satyricon 138:

        Prōfert Oenothea scorteum fascinum, quod ut oleō et minūtō pipere atque ū̆rtīcae trītō circumdedit sēmine […]

        Then Oenothea takes out a leather dildo and, having covered it in oil, pepper and ground nettle seeds […]

   3. a kind of seashell

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	fascinum	fascina
Genitive	fascinī	fascinōrum
Dative	fascinō	fascinīs
Accusative	fascinum	fascina
Ablative	fascinō	fascinīs
Vocative	fascinum	fascina

Derived terms

• fascinō
• fascinōsus
• praefiscini

Related terms

• fascinātiō
• fascinātor
• fascinātōrius

Descendants

• → English: fascinum
• Italian: fascino
• ⇒ Portuguese: fascínio

References

• “fascinum” on page 743 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (2nd ed., 2012)

Further reading

• “fascinum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “fascinum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• fascinum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “fascinum”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “fascinum”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin