fascinum
English
Etymology
From the (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin fascinum.
Pronunciation
Noun
fascinum (plural fascina)
- 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.
- 1955: Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita
Latin
Alternative forms
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
- An evil spell; witchcraft.
- A penis, especially that of a human.
- An artificial phallus, such as those inserted into statuary.
- A dildo.
- (by extension) A phallus-shaped amulet worn around the neck as a preventive against witchcraft.
- (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
Related terms
Descendants
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
Categories:
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- Latin terms with unknown etymologies
- Latin terms derived from substrate languages
- Latin 3-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin lemmas
- Latin nouns
- Latin second declension nouns
- Latin neuter nouns in the second declension
- Latin neuter nouns
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