ENGLISH
REFERENCE

fetish

n.
US //ˈfɛtɪʃ// UK //fˈɛtɪʃ// fetish
  1. 1 sexual fixation (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical

    a strong sexual interest in a specific object, material, or part of the body that is not usually considered sexual.

    a form of sexual desire in which gratification is linked to an abnormal degree to a particular object, item of clothing, or part of the body.

    Example

    He realized he had a leather fetish after buying his first motorcycle jacket.

    Example

    Psychologists distinguish between a mild preference for certain materials and a clinical fetish that becomes necessary for sexual arousal.

    Usage

    Often used with the preposition 'for'.
  2. 2 an obsession (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    an extremely strong interest in something that seems more important than it really is.

    an excessive or irrational commitment to or obsession with a particular activity, object, or idea.

    Example

    The boss has a fetish for punctuality and gets angry if you are one minute late.

    Example

    The modern fetish for data-driven results often ignores the qualitative human experience that numbers cannot capture.

    Teacher's tip

    In this non-sexual sense, it is often used metaphorically to criticize someone's over-the-top focus on a rule or object.
  3. 3 magical object (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical Formal Religion

    an object that people believe has magical or spiritual powers.

    an inanimate object worshipped for its supposed magical powers or because it is considered to be inhabited by a spirit.

    Example

    The museum displayed a wooden fetish used by the tribe for protection.

    Example

    Anthropologists observed how the community treated the carved stone as a protective fetish, offering it food during the harvest festival.
Origin

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁k-yé-ti Proto-Italic *θakjō Proto-Italic *fakjō Latin faciō Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tos Latin -tus Latin factus Latin -īcius Latin factīcius Portuguese feitiçobor. French fétichebor. English fetish Borrowed from French fétiche, from Portuguese feitiço, from Latin factīcius (“artificial”). Doublet of factitious.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Last updated June 20, 2026