Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Swastika |
SwastikaNoun1. The official emblem of the Nazi Party and the German Third Reich; a cross with the arms bent at right angles in a clockwise direction. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definition |
History & Folklore | The --, called --, its form being composed of four Greek capitals of the letter gamma, is marked on many early christian tombs as a veil symbol of the cross. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The swastika (Sanskrit "good luck" or "well-being", literally "it is good") appears in art and design throughout human history, symbolising many different things; such as luck, fascism, samsara, or the sun The swastika is used as a symbol by Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, and Nazis.
The swastika is common as a design motif in ancient architecture, frequently appearing in mosaics, friezes, and other works across the ancient world. Related symbols in classical architecture include the cross, the gammadion, the three-legged triskele or triskelion and the rounded lauburu. The swastika symbol is also known in these contexts by a number of names including fylfot (in English) and gammadion (in Greece).
Geometrically, the swastika is an irregular icosagon, a 20-sided polygon.
Traditionally, when the swastika is drawn facing right handed or clockwise as above, it is a good luck symbol. It is sometimes claimed when it is drawn left facing or anti-clockwise, it is a bad omen and it is labelled a "sauwastika", however there is little evidence of this distinction in Hindu and Buddhist history from which it is supposed to derive.
This symbolism has been modified because of associations with Nazism and current Buddhists will almost always use the left facing swastika.
In the early twentieth century, a right facing swastika which is rotated through 45 degrees, was used as the symbol of German Will by the German Nazi Party (see below), and it is still closely associated, in the West, with this use.
In modern times, the symbolism of the Nazi swastika has been used by neo-Nazis and other hate groups. Because of this, its use outside historical contexts has become a taboo in much of the world. However, it is important to bear in mind that for many millions of people worldwide, the swastika has associations which have nothing to do with Nazism.
In Hinduism, the two symbols represented the two forms of Brahma; clockwise it represents the evolution of the universe (Pravritti), anti-clockwise it represents the involution of the universe (Nivritti).
In Buddhism, the swastika is oriented horizontally. These two symbols are included, at least since the Liao dynasty, as part of the Chinese language (as 卍 (in pinyin: wan4), the symbolic sign for the character 萬 (wan4) meaning "all", and "eternality" and as 卐 which is seldom used.) The swastikas (in either direction) appear on the chest of some statues of Gautama Buddha. Because of the association with the right facing swastika with Nazism, Buddhist swastikas after the mid 20th century are almost universially left facing. This form of the swastika is often found on Chinese food packaging to signify that the product is vegetarian and can be consumed by strict Buddhists. Also this type of swastika is often sewn into the collars of Chinese children's clothing to protect them from evil spirits.
In Jainism, the swastika symbol is combined with that of a hand.
In Christianity, it has been used as an alternative to the traditional cross. It also symbolizes the pain of Christ on the cross.
The swastika symbol was found extensively in the ruins of the ancient city of Troy.
In Ireland, a variant of the swastika known as Brigit's cross is used to ward off evil.
The British author Rudyard Kipling, who was strongly influenced by Indian culture, had a swastika on the dust jackets of all his books until the rise of Nazism made this inappropriate.
In Finland the swastika was used as the official national marking of the Finnish Air Force and Army between 1918 and 1944. The blue swastika was the good luck symbol used by the Swedish Count Erich von Rosen, who donated the first plane to the Finnish "White Army" during the Civil War in Finland. It has no connection to the Nazi use of the swastika. It also still appears in many Finnish medals and decorations, in a visually understated manner.
In Japan, the swastika is an ancient religious symbol. A swastika appeared in some Pokémon playing cards sold in Japan. Because of the taboo status of this symbol in the West these cards were not sold in other countries. The Magen David (Star of David) symbol is also present in the card set. On Japanese town plans, a swastika (left-facing and horizontal) is commonly used to mark the location of a Buddhist temple.
For many people, the swastika is associated primarily with the genocidal twentieth century Nazi movement.
Prior to the creation of the Nazi movement, the swastika was already in use as a symbol of German volkisch nationalist movements.
The Nazi Party took the swastika in a white circle on a red background, as its insignia in 1920. The swastika is known in this context as the Hakenkreuz ("hooked cross"). The Nazis also used the swastika without the circle and background. Adolf Hitler stated in Mein Kampf that he chose the final design of the Nazi flag based on a large number of submissions from Nazi supporters.
Unlike the traditional swastika, the Nazi swastika is almost invariably depicted at 45° to the horizontal.
Two versions of the Nazi swastika commonly occur, one with outer bars pointed counter-clockwise, and the mirror image with outer bars pointed clockwise. Although the Nazis do not appear to have made a symbological distinction between the two, the latter is more common in their usage.
The use of the swastika was associated by Nazi theorists with their theories of Aryan cultural descent of the German people.
Nowadays, German law makes the public showing of the Hakenkreuz and other Nazi symbols illegal and punishable.
There is also a small village in northern Ontario, Canada, approximately 580 kilometres north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and 5 kilometres west of Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada, named after the Swastika before it became synonymous with the Nazi party.
The Odal rune of the neo- nazi African Student Federation.
The three- legged badge of the Isle of Man, which is believed to share its roots with the swastika.
Swazi
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The town's only other claim to fame is its association with the Mitford family, who owned the Swastika Mine for which the town was named. In particular, Nazi sympathizer Unity Mitford's association with the town (due to her conception there) impressed the superstitious Nazis, to whom the swastika was an important symbol.Design
History
Ancient and non-Nazi uses of the swastika
Swastika on a Buddhist Temple in Korea Religions
Areas
The swastika and Nazism
Nazi SwastikaSee also
External links
Swastika, Ontario
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Swastika."
Synonym: SwastikaSynonym: Hakenkreuz (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Spell | Talisman, amulet, periapt, telesm, phylactery, philter; fetich, fetish; agnus Dei; furcula, madstone; mascot, mascotte; merrythought; Om, Aum; scarab, scarabaeus; sudarium, triskelion, veronica, wishbone; swastika, fylfot, gammadion. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Swastika |
| English words defined with "swastika": cautionary ♦ Fyllot ♦ preventive, prophylactic. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Swastika" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. French (swastika), German (swastika). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Heaven knows it's marvelous being able to spread out in bed like a swastika. (The Women; writing credit: Anita Loos) I believe in the Grail, not the Swastika. (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; writing credit: Mario Van Peebles) You're wondering what I'm gonna do to the son of the guy who raped me and tatooed a swastika on my ass. (Oz; writing credit: Pavel Srut) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
| ||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
| ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Hitler trying to grab France and Italy as swastika saws through map of Europe. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Decomposing corpse of man with swastika arm band in Dresden, Germany, after the fire bombing during World War II]. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Member of the Russian National Revolutionary Party, in uniform, saluting next to a banner with a swastika on it at the home of party president Anastase Vonsiatsky. Credit: Library of Congress. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Discrimination | Brazil | A 1997 law provides prison penalties and fines for racist acts, including promulgation of pejorative terms for ethnic or racial groups, use of the swastika, or acts of discrimination based on sex, religion, age, or ethnic origin. (references) |
Minorities | Argentina | A swastika was found inside the box. (references) |
Yugoslavia | In June a Roma judge in Stara Pazova in Vojvodina received death threats and a swastika was drawn on the walls of his home. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Swastika" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 97.17% of the time. "Swastika" is used about 106 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 97.17% | 103 | 32,137 |
| Noun (proper) | 2.83% | 3 | 202,518 |
| Total | 100.00% | 106 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "swastika": swastika-flagged, swastika-like, swastika-patterned, swastika-peltae, swastika-wearing. | |
Ending with "swastika": four-swastika. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "swastika"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | kryç i thyer. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | الصليب المعقوف. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | свастика (fylfot), пречупен кръст (fylfot). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 卍 . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | svastika, hákový kříž. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | hakaristi, hakaneulalippu. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | swastika, svastika. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Hakenkreuz (fylfot). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | σβάστικα. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | צלב קרס. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | horogkereszt (fylfot, teutonic cross). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | svastica. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 鉤十字 , ノイマン型 (christmas, fungo, Hague, heart, Hercules, hook, knob, knock, knockdown, knocker, knocking, knock-on, knockout, knot, know, know-how, knowledge, nautical mile per hour, Neumann-type, neuron, neurosis, no, noctovision, nocturne, nominal, nominal price, nominate, nomination, nomogram, nomograph, non career, non cling, non store retailing, non troppo, non-attachment disease, nonbank banking, nonbook, nonchalant, non-conforming design, nonfiction, nonius, nonpolitical, non-professional, nonrun, non-sectarian, nonsense, nonslip, nonstop, non-terminal, nontitle match, non-verbal, non-verbal communication, Noraism, Nordic, Norma, Normandy, Norway, nostalgia, nostalgic, nostalgie, notation, notch, notchback, notch-filter, nova, Nova Scotia, novel, novelty, nozzle, number, unaffiliated, vernier calipers, vernier micrometer), 卍 (fylfot, gammadion). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | ハーケンクロイツ , ま"じ (fylfot, gammadion), かぎじゅうじ. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | crosh chast. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | astikasway suástica, cruz gamada. (various references) zvasticã. (various references) свастика (fylfot). (various references) svastika (sister in law). (various references) esvástica, cruz gamada. (various references) svastika, hakkors. (various references) gamalı haç (fylfot). (various references) свастика (fylfot). (various references) hình chữ vạn (fyfot), hình chữ thập ngoặc (fyfot). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "swastika": swastikas. (additional references) | |
| |
"Swastika" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Iwatsuki, Sawtsila, Stasiak, swasticka, swastlka, Tsatsiki. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "swastika" (pronounced swÄ"stiku) |
| 4 | -t i k u | erotica. |
| 3 | -i k u | Angelica, arabica, Erica, harmonica, replica, silica, Tunica, Veronica. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-a-i-k-s-s-t-w" | |
-2 letters: awaits, waists. | |
-3 letters: assai, await, ikats, katas, kists, sakis, satis, skats, skits, swats, takas, tasks, waist, waits, wasts, wists. | |
-4 letters: aits, asks, ikat, kaas, kata, kats, kiss, kist, kits, saki, sati, saws, sits, skas, skat, skis, skit, staw, swat, taka, task, tass, taws, tsks, twas, wait, wast, wats, wiss, wist, wits. | |
-5 letters: aas, ais. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-a-i-k-s-s-t-w" | |
+1 letter: swastikas. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Non-fiction | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Expressions 11. Expressions: Internet 12. Translations: Modern | 13. Derivations 14. Rhymes 15. Anagrams 16. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
