swastika

(swästi kə)

noun

  1. a design or ornament of ancient origin in the form of a cross with four equal arms, each bent in a right-angle extension: a mystic symbol found in both the Old World and the New World
  2. this design with the arms bent back clockwise, used in Nazi Germany and by other Nazi fascists as a party emblem and symbol of anti-Semitism

Origin: Sans svastika < svasti, well-being, benediction < su, well (< IE base *su-, var. of *swe-, *sewe-: see suicide) + asti, he is: for IE base see is

See swastika in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. An ancient cosmic or religious symbol formed by a Greek cross with the ends of the arms bent at right angles in either a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction.
  2. Such a symbol with a clockwise bend to the arms, used as the emblem of the Nazi party and of the German state under Adolf Hitler, officially adopted in 1935.

Origin:

Origin: Sanskrit svastikaḥ, sign of good luck, swastika

Origin: , from svasti, well-being; see (e)su- in Indo-European roots

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