mascot
UK /ˈmæsˌkɒt/ · US /ˈmæsˌkɑːt/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms mascots mascoting mascoted mascotte
- noun Something thought to bring good luck. “I keep this red stone as a lucky mascot and always put it on my desk in exams.”
- noun Something, especially a person or animal, used to symbolize a sports team, company, organization or other group. “Tommy the Tyke is the mascot of Barnsley FC.”
- noun A person engaged by an organization to portray its mascot in costume. “He's been working as a mascot at local hockey games.”
- noun (psychology) A personality type characterized by reliance on humor and positivity to wish away conflicts and attempt to defuse potentially violent situations.
- verb (ambitransitive) To act as a mascot (for).
- proper noun A suburb in southeastern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Etymology
Borrowed from French mascotte, from Occitan mascòta (“sortilege”), feminine diminutive of masca (“witch”), from Old Occitan masca, from Medieval Latin masca (“specter, nightmare”). More at mask.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A person who is supposed to bring good luck to the household to which he or she belongs; anything that brings good luck.
Etymology [Through French fr. Pr. mascot a little sorcerer or magician, mascotto witchcraft, sorcery.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “mascot”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details