fetish

WOTD – 8 October 2008    

English

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• fetich (dated [18^th C.–present])

Etymology

From French fétiche, from Portuguese feitiço, from Latin factīcius (“artificial”)

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) enPR: fĕtʹĭsh, IPA: /ˈfɛt.ɪʃ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

fetish (plural fetishes)

1. Something which is believed to possess, contain, or cause spiritual or magical powers; an amulet or a talisman. [from the early 17th c.]
2. Something sexual or nonsexual, such as an object or a part of the body, which arouses sexual desire or is necessary for one to reach full sexual satisfaction. [from the early 19th c.]

   I know a guy who has a foot fetish.

3. (US) An irrational, or abnormal fixation or preoccupation. [from the 19th c.]
   • 1933: We have a feeling that it must be "honest" work, because it is hard and disagreeable, and we have made a sort of fetish of manual work. -- George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London, Ch. XXII, pg. 117 (Harvest / Harcourt paperback edition).

Related terms

• fetishism
• fetishist
• fetishistic
• fetishlike
• fetishize
• fetishwear

Translations

something nonsexual which arouses sexual desire

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 戀物 (cmn), 恋物 (cmn) (liànwù)

• Czech: fetiš (cs)
• Finnish: fetišši (fi), fetissi (fi)
• French: fétiche (fr) m
• Georgian: ფეტიში (ka) (p'etiši)
• German: Fetisch (de) m
• Hungarian: fétis (hu)
• Japanese: フェティシズム (ja) (fetishizumu), フェチ (ja) (fechi), フェティッシュ (ja) (fetisshu)

• Korean: 페티시즘 (ko) (petisijeum), 페티시 (ko) (petisi)
• Polish: fetysz (pl) m
• Portuguese: fetiche (pt) m
• Russian: фетиш (ru) (fetíš) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: фетиш (sh) m

  Roman: fetiš (sh) m

• Spanish: fetiche (es) m
• Swedish: fetisch (sv) c
• Turkish: fetiş (tr)

something believed to possess spiritual or magical powers

• Bulgarian: муска (bg) (muská) f, амулет (bg) (amulét) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 物神 (cmn) (wùshén)

• Finnish: taikakalu (fi), fetišši (fi), fetissi (fi)
• French: fétiche (fr) m
• German: Fetisch (de) m
• Hungarian: bálvány (hu), fétis (hu)
• Italian: feticcio (it)

• Polish: fetysz (pl) m
• Portuguese: fetiche (pt) m
• Russian: фетиш (ru) (fetíš) m, амулет (ru) (amulét) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: фетиш (sh) m

  Roman: fetiš (sh) m

• Spanish: fetiche (es) m
• Turkish: fetiş (tr)

irrational or abnormal fixation

• Bulgarian: фетиш (bg) (fetíš) m, кумир (bg) (kumír) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 迷戀 (cmn), 迷恋 (cmn) (míliàn)

• Finnish: päähänpinttymä (fi)
• French: fétiche (fr) m
• German: Fetisch (de) m

• Russian: фетиш (ru) (fetíš) m, кумир (ru) (kumír) m, идол (ru) (ídol) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: фетиш (sh) m

  Roman: fetiš (sh) m

• Spanish: fetiche (es) m