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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Fetishism

fetichism \fe"tich*ism\, Fetishism \Fe"tish*ism\ (? or ?); 277), n.[Cf. F. f['e]tichisme.] [Written also feticism.]

  1. The doctrine or practice of belief in fetiches.

  2. Excessive devotion to one object or one idea; abject superstition; blind adoration.

    The real and absolute worship of fire falls into two great divisions, the first belonging rather to fetichism, the second to polytheism proper.
    --Tylor.

Fetishism

Fetish \Fe"tish\, n., Fetishism \Fe"tish*ism\ (? or ?; 277), n., Fetishistic \Fe`tish*is"tic\, a. See Fetich, n., Fetichism, n., Fetichistic, a.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
fetishism

1801, "worship of fetishes," from fetish + -ism. Expanded in use by Comte taking it to denote a general type of primitive religion (animism). In the purely psycho-sexual sense, first recorded 1897 in writings of Henry Havelock Ellis (1859-1939).\nIn certain perversions of the sexual instinct, the person, part of the body, or particular object belonging to the person by whom the impulse is excited, is called the fetish of the patient. [E. Morselli in "Baldwin Dictionary of Philosophy," 1901]\nRelated: Fetishist (1845; psycho-sexual sense from 1897); fetishistic.

Wiktionary
fetishism

alt. 1 the belief that natural objects have supernatural powers, or that something created by people has power over people. 2 a form of paraphilia where the object of attraction is an inanimate object or a part of a person's body. n. 1 the belief that natural objects have supernatural powers, or that something created by people has power over people. 2 a form of paraphilia where the object of attraction is an inanimate object or a part of a person's body.

WordNet
fetishism
  1. n. a belief in the magical power of fetishes (or the worship of a fetish) [syn: fetichism]

  2. sexual arousal or gratification resulting from handling a fetish (or a specific part of the body other than the sexual organs) [syn: fetichism]

Wikipedia
Fetishism

A fetish (derived from the French fétiche; which comes from the Portuguese feitiço; and this in turn from Latin facticius, "artificial" and facere, "to make") is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a man-made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is the emic attribution of inherent value or powers to an object.

Usage examples of "fetishism".

While I will touch upon the clinical aspects of fetishism and cross-dressing, I leave the bulk of the psychological, cross-cultural, and statistical aspects of my topic to the scholars.

His tactility is thus unnecessarily, and cruelly, recast as fetishism at this point since society has no precedent to grant males the full enjoyment of sight and touch.

I will argue later in the book that much of what we call fetishism, and cross-dressing for that matter, is more an irony of our flawed culture than a sexual problem.

To answer the riddle of cross-dressing requires that we take a most unusual journey through the worlds of cross-dressing, culture, fetishism, sexual dysfunction, and spirituality.

One of the key points of this chapter will be that what is called fetishism is often nothing more than a slur levelled against those who violate the aesthetic or symbolic sensibilities of another person or group.

The combination of fetishism and exhibitionism is not uncommon in the world of crossdressing.

What makes fetishism so interesting is the intriguing diversity and perverse enthusiasm displayed by the fetishistic.

I agree with the theory that fetishism begins when a young boy, for whatever reason, cannot possess the love and affection of his mother.

The shift in emphasis, however, corresponds to the template of fetishism in that a woman is still being sought.

It seems to me that the state of transitional fetishism is crucial -- because it involves the recognition of fetishism.

The most obvious way to recognize fetishism would be to postulate an inner feminine self and to thus begin to clothe that self.

For this reason, I contend that cross-dressing cannot begin above the level of transitional fetishism -- the exception being the peripheral CD.

Transitional fetishism is often characterized by an obsessive preoccupation with things feminine, particularly in seeing what one looks like when dressed as a woman.

The phase of transitional fetishism, incidentally, can last for a very long time because it is so pleasurable.

Nigel is an example of a man who moved from fetishism to cross-dressing.