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fasceses

 - 2 dictionary results

fas⋅ces

  [fas-eez]
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–noun (usually used with a singular verb)
a bundle of rods containing an ax with the blade projecting, borne before Roman magistrates as an emblem of official power.
Origin:
1590–1600; < L, pl. of fascis bundle, pack
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

fasces 
1598, from L. fasces "bundle of rods containing an axe with the blade projecting" (pl. of fascis "bundle" of wood, etc.), carried before a lictor, a superior Roman magistrate, as a symbol of power over life and limb: the sticks symbolized punishment by whipping, the axe head execution by beheading. Probably cognate with M.Ir. basc "neckband," Welsh baich "load, burden," O.E. bæst "inner bark of the linden tree."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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