swastika
A cross with arms of equal length all bent halfway along at a 90° angle to the right…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.
» The swastikas should have raised some suspicion.
Meaning
2 senses(countable)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.
Hakenkreuz, Swastika
сва́стикаsvástika, коловра́тkolovrát
сва́стикаsvástyka
(metonymically, uncountable)Nazi rule.
- the official emblem of the Nazi Party and the Third Reich; a cross with the arms bent at right angles in a clockwise direction
Examples
15 sentencesThe swastikas should have raised some suspicion.
Flavio saw a swastika on the wall.
The soldier was wearing a swastika armband.
ruУ солдата на руке была повязка со свастикой.
Layla had a swastika tattooed on her forehead.
People marching with swastika flags are not appropriate for children.
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
Learned borrowing from Sanskrit स्वस्तिक (svastika), from सु- (su-, “good, well”) + अस्तिLearned 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).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: swastikasSynonyms
19 synonyms- the official emblem of the Nazi Party and the Third Reich; a cross with the arms bent at right angles in a clockwise direction:Hakenkreuz
Word family
5 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable