SWASTIKA Definition & Meaning

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swastika

[swos-ti-kuh, swas-]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a figure used as a symbol or an ornament in the Old World and in America since prehistoric times, consisting of a cross with arms of equal length, each arm having a continuation at right angles.
this figure as the official emblem of the Nazi party and the Third Reich.

swastika

/ ˈ��ɒ��ɪ��ə /

noun

a primitive religious symbol or ornament in the shape of a Greek cross, usually having the ends of the arms bent at right angles in either a clockwise or anticlockwise direction
this symbol with clockwise arms, officially adopted in 1935 as the emblem of Nazi Germany

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Other 51�Թ� Forms

swastikaed adjective

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of swastika¹

1850–55; < Sanskrit svastika, equivalent to su- good, well (cognate with Greek eu- eu- ) + as- be ( is ) + -ti- abstract noun suffix + -ka secondary noun suffix

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of swastika¹

C19: from Sanskrit svastika, from svasti prosperity; from the belief that it brings good luck

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

On the reverse of the coin is a design that could be a cross or could be a swastika, then recognised as a good luck symbol, surrounded by an attempt at a Latin inscription.

From

In 2017, she was interviewed by a local TV station after her school in Kansas was vandalised with a Nazi swastika.

From

Photos published by the court show the experts sifting through black-and-white photos and membership booklets bearing swastikas on their covers.

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Once on the island they tear down a swastika and replace it with the hammer and sickle of the Soviet Union.

From

“The city was already draped in swastikas. Bright red flags hanging, flapping, lolling like dead tongues from every corner shop … Berlin was bleeding from the inside out.”

From

swash plate swat

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