fetish

or fet·ich

[ fet-ish, fee-tish ]

/ ˈfɛt ɪʃ, ˈfi tɪʃ /

noun

an object regarded with awe as being the embodiment or habitation of a potent spirit or as having magical potency.

any object, idea, etc., eliciting unquestioning reverence, respect, or devotion: to make a fetish of high grades.

Psychology. any object or nongenital part of the body that causes a habitual erotic response or fixation.

Nearby words

fetial, feticide, fetid, fetidly, fetiparous, fetish, fetishism, fetishist, fetishize, fetlock, feto-

Origin of fetish

1605–15; earlier fateish < Portuguese feitiço charm, sorcery (noun), artificial (adj.) < Latin factīcius factitious; replacing fatisso, fetisso < Portuguese, as above

SYNONYMS FOR fetish

1 talisman, amulet.

Related formsfet·ish·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fetich

They added to their own stock of dogma and fetich that of the natives.
The Religions of Japan|William Elliot Griffis
It was made by a Loango man, a fetich doctor, very many years ago.
Fetichism in West Africa|Robert Hamill Nassau
When this fetich is not in use, it is hidden in his bedroom or other private part of his house.
Fetichism in West Africa|Robert Hamill Nassau
African fetich is no blinder than such baseless adoration performed by an intelligent people.
Due West|Maturin Murray Ballou

He does not always hide his fetich charm worn on his person; for it passes muster in his explanation of its use as a “medicine.”
Fetichism in West Africa|Robert Hamill Nassau

British Dictionary definitions for fetich

fetish

fetich

/ (ˈfɛtɪʃ, ˈfiːtɪʃ) /

noun

something, esp an inanimate object, that is believed in certain cultures to be the embodiment or habitation of a spirit or magical powers

a form of behaviour involving fetishism
any object that is involved in fetishism

any object, activity, etc, to which one is excessively or irrationally devotedto make a fetish of cleanliness

Derived Formsfetish-like or fetich-like, adjective

Word Origin for fetish

C17: from French fétiche, from Portuguese feitiço (n) sorcery, from adj: artificial, from Latin factīcius made by art, factitious

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fetich

fetish

1610s, fatisso, from Portuguese feitiço "charm, sorcery," from Latin facticius "made by art," from facere "to make" (see factitious).

Latin facticius in Spanish has become hechizo "magic, witchcraft, sorcery." Probably introduced by Portuguese sailors and traders as a name for charms and talismans worshipped by the inhabitants of the Guinea coast of Africa. Popularized in anthropology by C. de Brosses' "Le Culte des Dieux Fétiches" (1760), which influenced the word's spelling in English (French fétiche, also from the Portuguese word). Figurative sense of "something irrationally revered" is American English, 1837.

Any material image of a religious idea is an idol; a material object in which force is supposed to be concentrated is a Fetish; a material object, or a class of material objects, plants, or animals, which is regarded by man with superstitious respect, and between whom and man there is supposed to exist an invisible but effective force, is a Totem. [J. Fitzgerald Lee, "The Greater Exodus," London, 1903]

For sexual sense, see fetishism.

Medicine definitions for fetich

fetish

[ fĕt′ĭsh, fē′tĭsh ]

n.

Something, such as an object or nonsexual part of the body, that arouses sexual desire and may become necessary for sexual gratification.

An abnormally obsessive preoccupation or attachment.

Culture definitions for fetich

fetish

An object believed to carry a magical or spiritual force. Some so-called primitive tribes practice cult worship of fetishes. (See animism (see also animism) and totemism.)

Note

Figuratively, a “fetish” is any object that arouses excessive devotion: “Lucille made a fetish of her Porsche.”