FASCES

fasces. Fasces, n. pl. rods carried before consuls, &c.

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‖Fas″ces (?), n. pl. [[L., pl. of fascis bundle; cf. fascia a band, and Gr. φάκελοσ a bundle.]], (Rom. Antiq.) A bundle of rods, having among them an ax with the blade projecting, borne before the Roman magistrates as a badge of their authority.