fasces

fasces
/fas"eez/, n. (usually used 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; < L, pl. of fascis bundle, pack]

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symbol
 (plural form of Latin fascis: “bundle”) in ancient Rome, insignia of official authority. It was carried by the lictors, or attendants, and was characterized by an ax head projecting from a bundle of elm or birch rods about 5 feet (1.5 metres) long and tied together with a red strap; it symbolized penal power. When carried inside Rome, the ax was removed (unless the magistrate was a dictator or general celebrating a triumph) as recognition of the right of a Roman citizen to appeal a magistrate's ruling. The discovery of a miniature iron set of fasces in a 7th-century BC Etruscan tomb at Vetulonia confirms the traditional view that Rome derived the fasces from the Etruscans. The Roman emperors, beginning with Augustus in 19 BC, had 12 fasces, but, after Domitian (reigned AD 81–96), they had 24; dictators, 24; consuls, 12; praetors, 6; legates, 5; priests, 1. Lowering of the fasces was a form of salute to a higher official.

      Benito Mussolini's Fascist Party of Italy was named for the fasces, which the members adopted in 1919 as their emblem. The Winged Liberty dime, minted in the United States from 1916 to 1945, depicts the fasces on its obverse side.

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  • Fasces — (IPAEng|ˈfæsiːz, a plurale tantum , from the Latin word fascis , meaning bundle [ [http://www.webster.com/cgi bin/dictionary?va=fasces Merriam Webster Online Dictionary] : fasces] ) symbolize summary power and jurisdiction, and/or strength… …   Wikipedia

  • Fasces — romano. Las fasces (o haz de lictores), palabras provenientes del latín fascis, eran una unión de 30 varas (una por cada curia de la antigua Roma) atadas de manera ritual con una cinta de cuero rojo formando un cilindro; a su alrededor había un… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Fasces — Die Fasces (lat. fascis „Bündel“, Plural fasces), Rutenbündel mit Beil, waren das Amtssymbol der höchsten Machthaber des Römischen Reiches und wurde diesen von ihren Amtsdienern (Liktoren) vorangetragen, weshalb sie auch Liktorenbündel genannt… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • FASCES — apud Romanos, maiorum Magistratuum erant iusignia, quae ipsis curuli sellâ vectis, a lictoribus praeferebantur, Freinshem. in Flor. l. 1. c. 5. Erant autem fasciculi virgarum; quibus erat obligata securis, ita ut ferrum in summo extaret. Cuius… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Fasces — Bas relief d un mètre et demi de hauteur. Musée des Thermes de Dioclétien, Rome. Les faisceaux (en latin : fasces lictoriae) sont les objets portés par les …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Fasces — (lat.), bei den alten Römern das symbolische Zeichen der Amtsgewalt, bestehend in vermittelst roter Riemen zusammengehaltenen »Rutenbündeln« aus Ulmen oder Birkenholz, aus denen ein Beil hervorragte (s. Abb.). Sie dienten ursprünglich den… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • fasces — Sustantivo plural con que se designa la insignia de los cónsules romanos formada por un haz de varas con un hacha. Aunque a veces se ha usado en femenino, es voz culta que debe emplearse con el género masculino etimológico: «En sus muros pueden… …   Diccionario panhispánico de dudas

  • fasces — 1590s, from L. fasces bundle of rods containing an axe with the blade projecting (pl. of fascis bundle of wood, etc.), perhaps from PIE *bhasko band, bundle (Cf. M.Ir. basc neckband, Welsh baich load, burden, O.E. bæst inner bark of the linden… …   Etymology dictionary

  • fasces — (Del lat. fasces, pl. de fascis, haz). f. pl. Insignia de los cónsules romanos, que se componía de una segur en un hacecillo de varas …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • Fasces — Fas ces, n. pl. [L., pl. of fascis bundle; cf. fascia a band, and Gr. fa kelos a bundle.], (Rom. Antiq.) A bundle of rods, having among them an ax with the blade projecting, borne before the Roman magistrates as a badge of their authority. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fasces — (röm. Ant.), Bündel von Stäben aus Ulmen od. Birkenholz, aus deren Mitte ein Beil (Securis) hervorragte, als Zeichen der Herrschergewalt, insbesondere. des Rathes über Leibes u. Lebensstrafe. Die F. kamen in der ältesten Zeit aus Etrurien nach… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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