subs. (common).—A luck-piece, or talisman; somebody, or something, which ensures good fortune to the owner. Fr. la mascotte. [If the luck-piece be alive, the master-quality disappears with the loss of his (or her) virginity.]
1886. Popular Science Monthly, xxx. 121. It is even fashionable to talk about MASCOTS—a MASCOT being an object, animate or inanimate, that contributes to the good fortune of its possessor.
1888. Lippincott’s Magazine, Jan., p. 137. What is the origin of the term MASCOT?
