Definition of "fasces" [‖Fas•ces]

• A bundle of rods bound together around an ax with the blade projecting, carried before ancient Roman magistrates as an emblem of authority. (noun-plural)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It also attacks Mussolini, the clown in the pulpit on the right who is shown dangling a bundle of fasces from a sickle as he delivers a political tirade."
• "The fasces were the insignia of a Roman praetor, consul, general, or governor."
• "The fasces was a sacred symbol, like a royal scepter or a bishops crook."