swastika
UK/ˈswɒstɪkə//ˈswɑstɪkə/
swastika noun: a cross with arms of equal length all bent halfway along at a 90° angle to the right or to the left, used as a religious symbol by various ancient and modern civilizations, but now mainly seen and used in the West (with arms angled to the right) as a symbol of Nazism and fascism.
Noun
swastika (countable and uncountable, plural swastikas)
- A cross with arms of equal length all bent halfway along at a 90° angle to the right or to the left, used as a religious symbol by various ancient and modern civilizations, but now mainly seen and used in the West (with arms angled to the right) as a symbol of Nazism and fascism.
- This was signed by Dana Da, who added pentacles and pentagrams, and a crux ansata, and half-a-dozen swastikas, and a Triple Tau to his name, just to show that he was all he laid claim to be.1888, Rudyard Kipling, “The Sending of Dana Da”, in In Black and White, Folio Society, published 2005, pages 423–4
- It is clear from archaeological finds that they enjoyed wearing Christian crosses, though they might enliven these with such symbols as the Indian swastika which Buddhists had brought them.2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 270
- Synonyms:
- crooked cross, cross cramponned, cross cramponnée, cross cramponny, fylfot, lauburu, manji, thunder cross
- Nazi rule.
- "Is that what you think of me? I believe in the Grail, not the Swastika!"1989, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, spoken by Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody)
- “I can’t imagine anyone believes in Communist culprits instead of a contract job commissioned on behalf of the swastika.”2011, Rudolph Herzog, translated by Jefferson Chase, Dead Funny: Humor in Hitler's Germany, Brooklyn: Melville House, →ISBN, page 36
- Synonyms:
- hakenkreuz
Proper noun (1) capitalized: Swastika
Swastika
- A female given name from Sanskrit used in India.
Proper noun (2) capitalized: Swastika
Swastika
- An unincorporated community in Timiskaming district, Ontario, Canada.
Proper noun (3) capitalized: Swastika
Swastika
- Former name of Brilliant: an unincorporated community in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States.
swastika meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
swastika in Hindi
- a cross with arms of equal length all bent halfway along at a 90° angle
- स्वस्तिक svastik, साथिया sāthiyā
swastika in Tamil
- மங்கலக்குறி, சுவஸ்திகை
swastika in Urdu
- a cross with arms of equal length all bent halfway along at a 90° angle
- سوستک svastik, سواستیکا svāstikā
swastika in Bengali
- a cross with arms of equal length all bent halfway along at a 90° angle
- স্বস্তিকচিহ্ন swostikcihno, স্বস্তিক śostik, স্বস্তিকা śostikā
More languagesFewer languages
- swastika in Telugu
- స్వస్తిక svastika
- swastika in Kannada
- ಸ್ವಸ್ತಿಕ svastika
- swastika in Gujarati
- સ્વસ્તિક svastik
- swastika in Sanskrit
- स्वस्तिक svastika
- swastika in Sinhala
- ස්වස්තික swastika
- swastika in Arabic
- صَلِيب مَعْقُوف ṣalīb maʕqūf
- swastika in Malay
- banji, swastika
- swastika in Indonesian
- swastika
- swastika in Persian
- صلیب شکسته salib-e šekaste
- swastika in Thai
- สวัสติกะ sà-wàt-dtì-gà
- swastika in Vietnamese
- chữ vạn
- swastika in Myanmar
- စကြာ ca.kra
Examples of swastika in a sentence
- At many skinhead concerts, bands led fans in swastika flag-waving and chants of Sieg Heil!
- I drove to the synagog where a swastika had been painted on the wall.
- Its streets are marked with swastika emblems—symbols of prosperity in Hinduism and Buddhism—indicating the presence of shamans available for consultation.
Synonyms of swastika
- crooked cross
- cross cramponned
- cross cramponnée
- cross cramponny
- fylfot
- lauburu
- manji
- thunder cross
- hakenkreuz
- Black Spider
9 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- cross gammadion
- gammadion
- gammation
- hooked cross
- sauvastika
- sun wheel
- tetraskelion
- twisted cross
- sauwastika
Forms of swastika
| plural | swastikas |
|---|
Origin of swastika
Learned borrowing from Sanskrit स्वस्तिक (svastika), from सु- (su-, “good, well”) + अस्ति (asti), a verbal abstract of the root of the verb "to be", स्वस्ति (svasti) thus meaning "well-being" — and the diminutive suffix क (ka); hence "little thing associated with well-being", corresponding roughly to "lucky charm". First attestation in English in 1871, a Sanskritism that replaced the Grecian term gammadion. From 1932 onwards it often referred specifically to the version used by the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (also called the "hooked cross", or German Hakenkreuz).
Borrowed from Sanskrit स्वस्तिका (svastikā).
Named after the Swastika Gold Mine in 1907. The mine's name was inspired by a swastika necklace its owner saw.
Words formed from swastika
Questions about swastika
- What does swastika mean?
- Swastika means a cross with arms of equal length all bent halfway along at a 90° angle to the right or to the left, used as a religious symbol by various ancient and modern civilizations, but now mainly seen and used in the West (with arms angled to the right) as a symbol of Nazism and fascism.
- What is swastika in Hindi?
- Swastika in Hindi is स्वस्तिक (svastik), साथिया (sāthiyā). See Swastika meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is swastika?
- Swastika can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce swastika?
- Swastika is pronounced /ˈswɒstɪkə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of swastika?
- The plural of swastika is swastikas.
Words near swastika in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: swastika (page history and authors); Swastika (page history and authors); swastika (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-swastika.ogg.
Cite this entry: “swastika.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/swastika. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.