fascinum
English edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
fascinum (plural fascina)
- (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 edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Unknown; compare Ancient Greek βάσκανος (báskanos, “sorcerer, slanderer”, adjective and noun), possibly from the same European substrate language.
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈfas.ki.num/, [ˈfäs̠kɪnʊ̃ˑ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈfaʃ.ʃi.num/, [ˈfäʃːinum]
Noun edit
fascinum n (genitive fascinī); second declension
- (originally) a charm, spell, witchcraft
- (by extension) a phallus-shaped amulet worn around the neck as a preventive against witchcraft
Declension edit
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 edit
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
References edit
- “fascinum” on page 743 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (2nd ed., 2012)
Further reading edit
- “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