swastika
/ˈswɑstɪkə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.97 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A cross with arms of equal length all bent halfway along at a 90° angle to the right or to the left, used as a religious symbol by various ancient and modern civilizations, but now mainly seen and used in the West (with arms angled to the right) as a symbol of Nazism and fascism.
Countable
name
A female given name from Sanskrit used in India.
name
An unincorporated community in Timiskaming district, Ontario, Canada.
name
Former name of Brilliant: an unincorporated community in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States.
Example Sentences
- "This was signed by Dana Da, who added pentacles and pentagrams, and a crux ansata, and half-a-dozen swastikas, and a Triple Tau to his name, just to show that he was all he laid claim to be."
- "It is clear from archaeological finds that they enjoyed wearing Christian crosses, though they might enliven these with such symbols as the Indian swastika which Buddhists had brought them."
- "A GOP office in Hillsborough, North Carolina, was firebombed over the weekend, with a swastika and the words “Nazi Republicans leave town or else” spray painted on an adjacent building, according to local officials."
- "Authorities in Connecticut are investigating after swastikas were found drawn on a high school campus in Stamford for the second time since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel earlier this month, the school district said."
- ""Is that what you think of me? I believe in the Grail, not the Swastika!""
- "“I can’t imagine anyone believes in Communist culprits instead of a contract job commissioned on behalf of the swastika.”"
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Sanskrit स्वस्तिक (svastika), from सु- (su-, “good, well”) + अस्ति (asti), a verbal abstract of the root of the verb "to be", स्वस्ति (svasti) thus meaning "well-being" — and the diminutive suffix क (ka); hence "little thing associated with well-being", corresponding roughly to "lucky charm". First attestation in English in 1871, a Sanskritism that replaced the Grecian term gammadion. From 1932 onwards it often referred specifically to the version used by the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (also called the "hooked cross", or German Hakenkreuz).
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈswɑstɪkə/
- British English: /ˈswɒstɪkə/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Religion.
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Synonyms
Black Spider
crooked cross
cross cramponned
cross cramponnée
cross cramponny
cross gammadion
gammadion
gammation
fylfot
hakenkreuz
hooked cross
lauburu