1. an object that is believed to have magical or spiritual powers, especially such an object associated with animistic or shamanistic religious practices 2. an object of unreasonably excessive attention or reverence 3. something, such as a material object or a nonsexual part of the body, that arouses sexual desire and may become necessary for sexual gratification 4. an abnormally obsessive preoccupation or attachment; a fixation

This word was very popular with the cool grad students. The only problem was that fetish only had two syllables, so they would refer to fetishization instead. Five syllables! Now that’s a word worth saying!