What does fasces mean?
Fasces is a plural noun denoting the bundle of rods, usually with an axe, that Roman lictors carried before magistrates as an emblem of legal authority and the power to punish. The object was both practical and symbolic: the rods recalled a magistrate’s coercive authority, while the axe evoked capital punishment. In later political usage, the fasces became a broader sign of concentrated state power, often associated with autocracy and dictatorship. Italian Fascism adopted the related Italian word fascio, meaning “bundle,” for its name and imagery, turning the ancient Roman emblem into a symbol of the movement. Today, “fasces” is chiefly encountered in history, classical studies, and discussion of political symbolism. It is a learned, somewhat dramatic term rather than everyday vocabulary and is normally used in the plural. The word is especially useful because it links an ordinary image—a tied bundle of wood—to the institutions and rhetoric of ancient Rome and modern authoritarian politics.
nounA bundle of rods, usually surrounding an axe, carried before a Roman magistrate by a lictor as an emblem of authority; by extension, a symbol of state power or dictatorship.
- A bundle of rods, often with an axe, carried before a Roman magistrate by a lictor as an insignia of legal authority.
- A symbol of concentrated political authority, especially autocratic or dictatorial power.
"The lictor carried the fasces before the Roman magistrate."
"Before a Roman consul, a lictor bore the fasces as a visible sign of the magistrate's power."
"The stark fasces became a favorite emblem for regimes seeking to project unified, irresistible authority."
The word is normally plural in English; a single bundle of rods was called a fascis in Latin, and the plural has the same form as the singular.
"The fasces were carried before the consul as a sign of his authority."
Fascism took its name from the fasces, transforming an ancient Roman emblem of authority into a notorious badge of dictatorship.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does fasces come from?
The English word dates from the early seventeenth century, via French, from Latin fasces, the plural of fascis, meaning a bundle or bundle of rods. In ancient Rome, lictors carried the bundle before magistrates as an emblem of their authority. Italian fascio, a related word for a bundle, gave rise to fascismo, and the ancient fasces was subsequently adopted as a symbol of the Fascist movement.
How fasces is actually used
The word is learned, formal, and somewhat dramatic rather than everyday. In English it is normally plural, reflecting its Latin form; modern references often connect it with authoritarian imagery and Fascism.
Easily confused with fasces
Fascism is the twentieth-century political movement, whereas the fasces is the ancient Roman bundle that became one of its symbols.