fetish
/ˈfɛt.ɪʃ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.59 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Something which is believed to possess, contain, or cause spiritual or magical powers; an amulet or a talisman.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A figure representing the spirit of a deity, human, or animal; an idol or voodoo doll.
Countable; Dated; Uncountable
noun
Sexual fixation to or arousal at something abnormally sexual or non-sexual, such as an object or a non-sexual part of the body.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
An irrational or abnormal preoccupation or fixation on some object or activity; an obsession.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The idols and fetishes were being dressed up and whitewashed, receiving sacrifices."
- "This was the trunk of a large wooden doll […] now entirely defaced by a long career of vicarious suffering. […] The last nail had been driven in with a fiercer stroke than usual, for the Fetish on that occasion represented aunt Glegg."
- ""It is not difficult for a negro to believe that he is a Zombie, and a very bad one at that. The step to Baron Samedi is simple. Mr. Big encourages the idea by having the Baron's fetish at his elbow. You saw it in his room.""
- "I know a guy who has a foot fetish."
- "a fetish for leather"
- "The first time, I was confused. His needs were obscure to me, and what I could perceive of them seemed to me ridiculous, laughable, like a fetish for lace-up shoes."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁kyéti Proto-Italic *θakjō Proto-Italic *fakjō Latin faciō Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tos Latin -tus Latin factus Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -īcus Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -īcius Latin factīcius Portuguese feitiçobor. French fétichebor. English fetish Borrowed from French fétiche, from Portuguese feitiço, from Latin factīcius (“artificial”). Doublet of factitious.
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: *dʰeh₁-, fétiche, feitiço, factīcius
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈfɛt.ɪʃ/
- British English: /ˈfɛt.ɪʃ/