fas·ces

(făs′ēz′)

pl.n.

A bundle of rods bound together around an axe with the blade projecting, carried before ancient Roman magistrates as an emblem of authority.

[Latin fascēs, pl. of fascis, bundle.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fasces

(ˈfæsiːz)

pl n, sing -cis (-sɪs)

1. (Historical Terms) (in ancient Rome) one or more bundles of rods containing an axe with its blade protruding; a symbol of a magistrate's power

2. (Historical Terms) (in modern Italy) such an object used as the symbol of Fascism

[C16: from Latin, plural of fascis bundle]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fas•ces

(ˈfæs iz)

n. (usu. with a sing. v.)

a bundle of rods containing an ax with the blade projecting, borne before Roman magistrates as an emblem of official power.

[1590–1600; < Latin, pl. of fascis bundle]

Fasces

bundle of twigs, 1598; the birch rod, 1799—Wilkes. See also fascicle.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

fasces - bundle of rods containing an axe with the blade protruding; in ancient Rome it was a symbol of a magistrate's power; in modern Italy it is a symbol of fascism

allegory, emblem - a visible symbol representing an abstract idea

Translations

faisceau

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

With a frigate's anchors for my bridle-bitts and fasces of harpoons for spurs, would I could mount that whale and leap the topmost skies, to see whether the fabled heavens with all their countless tents really lie encamped beyond my mortal sight!

View in context

"John Bradshaw," says Milton, "appears like a consul, from whom the fasces are not to depart with the year; so that not on the tribunal only, but throughout his life, you would regard him as sitting in judgment upon kings." I find it more credible, since it is anterior information, that one man should know heaven, as the Chinese say, than that so many men should know the world.

View in context

From the first seal of the Republic (1792), in which she grips a spear and Roman fasces, to Delacroix's indomitable Amazon wielding a musket (in Liberty Leading the People, 1830), to the blood-curdlingly fierce allegory on the Arc de Triomphe and more, Marianne the warrior has embodied the fortitude of the French Republic.

Dreyfus in America: A Pictorial Romance

Etymologically, socialism derives from the same root as "social" and "society"; communism derives from the same root as "commune" and "community"; fascism derives from the Italian word fascismo, which derives from fascio, which means a bundle of rods tightly bound together (from fasces, Latin for "bundle" or "group").

The Mind-Based Etymology of 'Capitalism'

(7) And even when, in a discussion of "savagery," Ishmael admits that "I myself am a savage, owning no allegiance but to the King of the Cannibals" (270), he concludes the chapter with perhaps the most endearing of pronouncements: "With a frigate's anchors for my bridle-bitts and fasces of harpoons for spurs, would I could mount that whale and leap the topmost skies, to see whether the fabled heavens with all their countless tents really lie encamped beyond my mortal sight!" (271).

Narrative Self-Absolution and Political Tyranny in Moby-Dick and Darkness at Noon

One bundle of sticks embedded with blades was described as like a "fasces" once carried by Roman magistrates.

Bomb-threat racist jailed for 10 years

Cuando el rey o, posteriormente, los magistrados con imperium marchaban, los lictores o alguaciles les acompanaban con las fasces, esto es, un haz formado por treinta varas atadas y un hacha, cuya figura constituia la expresion simbolica del imperium conferido a una persona o a un cargo en particular (Garcia, 1983, p.

CRISIS DE LA NOCION DE AUTORIDAD

For example, thin rods made of birch are flexible individually but strong when strapped together in a bundle, or fasces. Political parties from the Roman era to the fascists of the mid-20th century adopted this emblem of strength in unity.

Author takes readers on walk through the woods