fascinum

English

Etymology

From the (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin fascinum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfæsɪnəm/

Noun

fascinum (plural fascina)

1. 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, page 107 (Random House Value Publishing; →ISBN, 9780517665664)

     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.

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Latin

Alternative forms

• fascinus

Etymology

Unknown; compare Ancient Greek βάσκανος (báskanos, “sorcerer”), 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. An evil spell; witchcraft.
2. A penis, especially that of a human.
3. An artificial phallus, such as those inserted into statuary.
4. A dildo.
5. (by extension) A phallus-shaped amulet worn around the neck as a preventive against witchcraft.
6. (by extension) 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

Related terms

• fascinātiō
• fascinātor
• fascinātōrius

Descendants

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

References

• “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
• R. Bracht Branham & Daniel Kinney, Petronius "Satyrica": A New Translation, page 147, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996