Definition
Objects that people obsess over or believe have magical powers, or sexual objects that create strong feelings.
Etymology
From Portuguese 'feitiço' meaning charm or witchcraft, derived from Latin 'factitious' meaning artificial. The word was used by Portuguese traders in Africa and entered English in the 1600s.
Kelly Says
The word 'fetish' was originally used by Europeans to describe African spiritual practices they didn't understand—anthropologists now see it as an example of how colonizers misnamed and misunderstood other cultures' religions.
Translations
AMአማርኛ
ንብረት ማዳን
n-bre-t ma-da-n
BNবাংলা
অনুভূতিপ্ৰেম
a-nu-bhu-ti-pre-m
CACatalà
fetiches
fe-ti-ches
CSČeština
fetiši
fe-ti-ši
DADansk
fetisjer
fe-ti-sjer
DEDeutsch
Fetische
fe-ti-she
ELΕλληνικά
φιλομανία
fi-lo-ma-nia
ESEspañol
fetiches
fe-tee-ches
FAفارسی
شیفتگی
she-f-te-gi
FISuomi
fetismit
fe-ti-smit
FRFrançais
fétiches
fe-ti-sh
GUGU
ફેટિશિઝમ
fa-ti-shi-j-m
HEעברית
התמכרות
ha-tam-ma-rot
HIहिन्दी
वस्तु-प्रियता
vashtu-pri-yat-a
HUMagyar
fetissek
fe-ti-sek
IDBahasa Indonesia
fetishes
fe-ti-shez
ITItaliano
feticci
fe-ti-tchi
KMKM
អ្នកស្រល់
a-nk sar-loh
MRMR
फॅटिशिजम
fa-ti-shi-j-m
MSBahasa Melayu
fetishes
fe-ti-shez
MYမြန်မာ
ကျွန်တော် လူမျိုး
kyun-ta-w lu-myo-e
NLNederlands
fetishes
fe-ti-shez
NONorsk
fetisjer
fe-ti-sjer
PLPolski
fetisze
fe-ti-she
PTPortuguês
fetiches
fe-ti-ches
RORomână
fetişuri
fe-ti-ş-uri
RUРусский
фетиши
fe-ti-shi
SVSvenska
feticher
fe-ti-cher
SWKiswahili
fetishes
fe-ti-shez
TAதமிழ்
பேதிகைகள்
pe-thi-kai-gai
TEతెలుగు
సెక్స్లో ఆసక్తి
sex-lo a-sak-thi
THไทย
สิ่งลามก
sin la-mak
TRTürkçe
fetişler
fe-ti-ş-ler
UKУкраїнська
фетиши
fe-ti-shi
VITiếng Việt
những fetishes
nhu-ng fe-ti-shez
YOYO
ọmọ fetishes
o-mo fe-ti-shez
ZUZU
izinto ezithandwa
i-zin-to e-zi-than-dwa
Ethical Language Guidance
Gender History
Term historicized through colonial and sexual contexts that disproportionately pathologized non-Western sexualities and women's desires. Modern usage often conflates object-fixation with perversion, laden with moralism.
Inclusive Usage
Use neutrally when describing focused interests; contextualize in sexual discussion to avoid pathologizing consensual practices. Recognize colonial baggage.
Inclusive Alternatives
["fixations","preferences","interests"]