Fylfot Decorative Motifs
Fylfots are early design forms of the swastika. The design is frequently encountered in Pennsylvania Dutch decoration in a form that many say resembles a pinwheel. Never a widely used word, etymologists attribute the meaning to Middle English on the basis of one usage in a text from 1500. There, fylfot is used for the design because it was allegedly frequently used to “fill” the “foot” of a stained glass window design.
Reference Note by p4A editorial staff, 2010.