Where did the name fascism come from?

The term fascism originates from the Italian word fascio, which literally means "bundle" and figuratively means "group" or "union".12

While the name is famously associated with Benito Mussolini’s Fascist Party, he did not invent the word. The term fascio had been used in the names of various Italian labor and agrarian unions since at least 1872. Furthermore, the term fascisti was applied to members of a political coalition as early as 1915, years before Mussolini formed his fasci di combattimento ("fighting bands") in 1919.12

The movement adopted the fasces—a bundle of rods with an ax—as its emblem to symbolize authority and unity. This symbol dates back to ancient Rome, where it was carried by lictors to represent the power of magistrates. Although Mussolini’s regime popularized the modern usage of the word, the linguistic and symbolic roots of the movement were derived from these earlier Italian and Roman historical contexts.132