fetish
4
8.8
- noun
- /ˈfɛtɪʃ/
- The shaman carried a fetish that was said to protect him from evil spirits.
- commodity fetish
- fetish worship
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Watch on YouTubeThe statuette idol fetish, or whatever it was, had been captured some months earlier in the wooded swamp South of New Orleans during a raid on a supposed voodoo meeting.
- The statuette idol fetish, or whatever it was, had been captured some months earlier in the wooded swamp South of New Orleans during a raid on a supposed voodoo meeting.
Examples
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Susan Smith stole that fetish and planted it here.
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I was accused of stealing a pre-columbian zuni fetish from the museum.
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I have a bit of a shoe fetish.
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Edgar, you got a little wool fetish, buddy?
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In its origins, the fetish was an idol or cult object of primitive peoples.
Academic text (2002) -
Many cultures create a fetish from wood or stone, believing it brings good luck.
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They believe that this fetish can harness the power of the ancestors for protection.
Synonyms
24
9.9
A magic power or object people believe brings luck and protection
4
8.4
A small object thought to have magical powers
1
9.9
A small object like a charm that people think has magic
Antonyms
How Powerful
Surface Forms
Etymology
Fetish comes from the Portuguese word feitiço, which meant 'charm' or 'magic object' and was used by European visitors for small carved items in West Africa. So a fetish is an object thought to have power to protect someone or bring good luck.