Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/04/14

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Etymologies
From: "Jacques Bilinski" <jbilin@axionet.com>
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 18:57:52 -0700

> >>The word fascism comes for "fascio" which means fagot in Italian.

> >Well, a quick gander through any standard Latin dictionary would expand
> >Signore Codispoti's knowledge a bit.  "Fascism" comes from the Latin
> >"fascis", which means a fagot and more

> You are quite correct Marc. The bundled ax and twigs indeed date back to
the
> Roman Empire. However, "fascismo" is a 20th century term thus my
translation
> from Italian rather than Latin.
>

The english slang term for male homosexuals comes from the middle english
for a bundle of sticks and is a reference to the practice of burning
homesexuals at the stake during the middle ages. Fascism comes from the
Italian word for stick, and is a reference to the fact that a single stick
can be easily broken, but that a bundle of sticks held together cannot be
easily be broken.