mascot

symbol

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Last updated

July 16, 2026

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A mascot is a person, animal, or object adopted by a group as a symbolic figure, primarily to bring them good luck. The term originates from the Latin word "masca," meaning witch, which evolved through Provençal to mean "charm" or "magic spell". In the late 19th century, it became popularized in French as "mascotte," meaning a good luck charm. Today, mascots serve as symbols of good fortune for schools, sports teams, and other organizations, and are also used to promote merchandise. Synonyms include talisman, amulet, and charm.123

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Olympic Games
Mascots
The organizers of the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, devised as an emblem of their Games a cartoonlike figure of a skiing man and called him Schuss. The 1972 Games in Munich, West Germany, adopted the idea and produced the first “official mascot,”…
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The organizers of the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, devised as an emblem of their Games a cartoonlike figure of a skiing man and called him Schuss. The 1972 Games in Munich, West Germany, adopted the idea and produced the first “official mascot,”…
Read More