Etymology

swastika

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Today it means: 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. Full definition →

Sanskrit स्वस्तिक
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swastika · noun1

  1. Sanskrit · learned borrowing fromस्वस्तिक
  2. English todayswastika

Learned 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).

Swastika · proper noun2

  1. Sanskrit · borrowed fromस्वस्तिका
  2. Sanskrit · borrowed fromस्वस्तिका
  3. English todaySwastika

Borrowed from Sanskrit स्वस्तिका (svastikā).

Swastika · proper noun3

Named after the Swastika Gold Mine in 1907. The mine's name was inspired by a swastika necklace its owner saw.

Words from the same roots

Sanskritस्वस्तिक all →

Swastik

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.