phylactery
Part of speech: noun
Morphological type: simple
Topics: Christianity
art
arts
fantasy
Etymology: From Late Middle English philacterie, philaterie, filaterie (“amulet; tefilla; balderdash, idle words”), from Late Latin phylacterium (“amulet; reliquary; tefilla”), from Koine Greek φῠλᾰκτήρῐον (phŭlăktḗrĭon, “amulet; tefilla”) (used in the New Testament to translate Hebrew תפילין (“tefillin”)), from Ancient Greek φῠλᾰκτήρῐον (phŭlăktḗrĭon, “fortified outpost, watchman’s post; protection, safeguard”), from φυλακτήρ (phulaktḗr, “guard, watcher”) + -ῐον (-ĭon, suffix forming nouns). Φυλακτήρ (Phulaktḗr) is derived from φυλακ- (phulak-) (the stem of φῠλᾰ́σσω (phŭlắssō, “to guard, watch; to defend, protect”)) + -τήρ (-tḗr, suffix forming masculine agent nouns); and φῠλᾰ́σσω (phŭlắssō) from φῠ́λᾰξ (phŭ́lăx, “guard, sentry”), probably Pre-Greek. The spelling of the Middle English word was probably influenced by Middle French filatiere, philaterie, philatiere, and Old French filatiere, philatiere (“amulet; reliquary; tefilla”) (modern French phylactère), also from phylacterium.
Noun sense 1.2 (“fringe which an Israelite was required to wear”) was based on the mistaken assumption that the phylacteries (noun sense 1.1) referred to in Matthew 23:5 of the Bible were the same as the fringes mentioned in Numbers 15:37–39.
The modern use of "phylactery" as a term for a lich's artifact originates from Dungeons and Dragons.
Inflected forms:
form: phylacteries
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: philactery
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: philactory
pos: noun
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: Either of two small leather cases containing scrolls with passages from the Torah, traditionally worn by a Jewish man (one on the arm (usually the left) and one on the forehead) and now sometimes by a woman at certain morning prayers as a reminder to obey the law as set out in the Bible; a tefilla.
pos: noun
tags: Judaism
examples: All there [the scribes and Pharisees'] workꝭ [workis] they do⸝ for to be ſene of men. They ſett abroade there philateris⸝ and make large borders on there garmenttꝭ [garmenttis]⸝ […]
They [the scribes and Pharisees] walke vp and doune bearyng about brode Philacteries, they go with broad ⁊ gorgiouſe imbroderinges, and ſhewe furth the commaundementes of the lawe written in them, where as in their lyfe they neuer appeare.
But all their [the scribes and Pharisees'] workes they doe, for to be ſeene of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, […]
On the right hand of [a wax figure representing] Popery sat Judaism, represented by an old man embroidered with phylacteries, and distinguished by many typical figures, which I had not skill enough to unriddle.
On the islet appeared a beautiful woman, clad in a watchet-coloured silken mantle, bound with a broad girdle, inscribed with characters like the phylacteries of the Hebrews.
To Moses 'travelling' meant straying forlornly in strange towns and villages, given over to the worship of an alien deity, […] It meant praying brazenly in crowded railway trains, winding the phylacteries sevenfold round his left arm, and crowning his forehead with a huge leather bump of righteousness, to the bewilderment or irritation of unsympathetic fellow-passengers.
The phylactery was a leathern box, cube shaped, closed with an attached flap and bound to the person by a leather band. There were two kinds: (1) one to be bound to the inner side of the left arm, and near the elbow, so that with the bending of the arm it would rest over the heart, […] (2) Another was to be bound in the center of the forehead, […] Every male, who at the age of 13 becomes a "son of the Law" (bar miçwāh), must wear the phylactery and perform the accompanying ceremonial.
Some Rabbis allow a woman or a minor who are themselves not obligated to put on phylacteries to assist a hospitalized patient to don his phylacteries if he is otherwise unable to do so. […] Some Rabbis rule that no woman can put on phylacteries for a male patient because women are themselves not obligated to don phylacteries.
gloss: Either of two small leather cases containing scrolls with passages from the Torah, traditionally worn by a Jewish man (one on the arm (usually the left) and one on the forehead) and now sometimes by a woman at certain morning prayers as a reminder to obey the law as set out in the Bible; a tefilla.
pos: noun
tags: Judaism
derogatory
figuratively
examples: […] I ſend him back again for a phylactery to ſtitch upon his arrogance, that cenſures not onely before conviction ſo bitterly vvithout ſo much as one reaſon giv'n, but cenſures the Congregation of his Governors to their faces, for not being ſo haſty as himſelf to cenſure.
To thoughtful Obſervators the vvhole VVorld is a Phylactery, and every thing vve ſee an Item of the VViſdom, Povver, or Goodneſs of God.
"Know thy own worth, and reverence the lyre," is a line that should be as a fillet bound round the brow—a philactory embroidered on the garments of every son and daughter of Adam distinguished by the possession of that sacred gift, which, whether used or abused, applauded in itself or derided in its possessor, is the highest and the most inalienable distinction humanity ever has or ever can be gifted with, whether bestowed on the highest or the humblest being, in the great mass to which we all belong.
gloss: A fringe which an Israelite was required to wear as a reminder to obey the law as set out in the Bible; (by extension) any fringe or border.
pos: noun
tags: Judaism
archaic
examples: This Fabrick vvas ſo ſtupendous, as that vvhen King Cambyſes [II] had ſack'd and raz'd Syene, and the Flames had rambled to the Borders and the Phylacteries (as it vvere) of this Obelisk, he commanded the Fire to be extinguiſh'd, being ſtruck vvith Admiration of ſo venerable a Pile.
[S]uddenly now, / Full-statured, with uplifted head she walks, / And drops her loosed phylacteries in the dust.
gloss: Synonym of amulet (“a protective charm or ornament”).
pos: noun
tags: archaic
examples: In John Metham's Romance of Amoryus and Cleopes, dating from the mid-fifteenth century, a Medea-like figure named Cleopes equips her beloved knight Amoryus of Thessaly with various forms of magic in order to battle against the dragon. […] Amoryus's magic aids include a "Phylactery" (stanza 206, line 1423).
gloss: Synonym of amulet (“a protective charm or ornament”).
pos: noun
tags: archaic
broadly
examples: "Heh. No. You're right about that. Often an object that was important to a lich in life serves as the phylactery, but it could be anything," Diran said. "Something as simple as a locked chest or as ornate as a piece of sculpture. We won't know for certain until we find it, but whatever object is used, it is always cold to the touch."
'So,' says Calli impatiently, holding her head proudly, 'let's destroy the phylactery and let the lich rot in peace and then take the artefacts.' / 'It's not as simple as that,' says Joachim. 'The phylactery is the mask.' / An unnerving silence fills the room. The only way to destroy a lich permanently is to destroy the phylactery it uses to house its soul.
Liches are tough bastards. Usually, they're magic users that have messed around with necromancy and been able to transplant their soul into a phylactery, which is basically a magic jar that allows the soul to survive disconnected from the body. […] Destroying the lich without destroying the phylactery first just allows the lich to regenerate its body over time (or steal someone else's) and it really pisses them off. With the intense connection a lich has with its phylactery if it gets destroyed the lich will know instantly.
gloss: A scroll with words on it depicted as emerging from a person's mouth or held in their hands, indicating what they are singing or speaking; a banderole, a speech scroll.
pos: noun
tags: historical
examples: [T]o bear on their faces, as plainly as on a phylactery, the inscription, "Do, pray, look at the coronet on my panels;" […]
The sun coming in through the rose window in the south transept made the phylactery which the angel bore glow like a topaz, and gilded the hermit's bald head, while it turned the ciborium below into shining gold.
Just as phylacteries became more commonplace in prints in the 17th century, there was a growing aversion for the use of phylacteries in paintings. […] Devils and corrupt politicians were more likely seen to speak using phylacteries, whereas virtuous characters were more often depicted as silent.
That the inscribed rolls (also referred to as phylacteries, ribbons, banderoles, or scrolls) depicted in, for example, manuscript illuminations are signs of a residual orality that would work much like a speech balloon is an interpretation challenged not only by codicolgical and diplomatic evidence, however scant, but further by the use of hands in the iconography of the period.
On the other hand, the pseudo-dialogues inside the phylacteries introduce an ironic tone in narrative strips like [Francis] Barlow's, but they are not a means of dramatization; it is as if the characters, instead of talking to each other, were talking to the reader in order to state their intentions, make witty comments, or explain the situation.
gloss: A scroll with words on it depicted as emerging from a person's mouth or held in their hands, indicating what they are singing or speaking; a banderole, a speech scroll.
pos: noun
tags: figuratively
historical
examples: Here is the phylactery of his [John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford's] vices—wily, wary, cold, calculating, indirect, faithless. In act, treacherous and cruel.
gloss: Synonym of reliquary (“a container to display or hold religious relics”).
pos: noun
tags: historical
obsolete
examples: Reliquary phylacteries could serve as suspension capsules or containers for holy relics.
After Marie [of Oignies] was exhumed around 1226, another of her fingers was placed in a phylactery that was created by Hugh of Oignies and remained at Oignies until 1817[…].
Related words: philatory
phylacter
phylactered
klaf
mezuzah
speech bubble
Derived words: phylacterial
phylacteric
phylacterical
phylacteried
Translations:
lang: Old Armenian
word: պահպանակ
roman: pahpanak
lang: Azerbaijani
word: tefilin
lang: Basque
word: filakteria
lang: Bulgarian
word: филактерия
roman: filakterija
lang: Bulgarian
word: тфили́н
roman: tfilín
lang: Catalan
word: filacteri
lang: Catalan
word: filactèria
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 經文護符匣 /经文护符匣
roman: jīngwénhùfúxiá
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 經匣 /经匣
roman: jīngxiá
lang: Czech
word: fylaktéria
lang: Czech
word: tfilin
lang: Danish
word: tefillin
lang: Dutch
word: fylakterion
lang: Finnish
word: tefillin
lang: French
word: phylactère
lang: French
word: tephillin
lang: French
word: fronteau
lang: German
word: Phylakterion
lang: German
word: Denkzettel
lang: German
word: Gebetsriemen
lang: German
word: Tefillin
lang: Greek
word: τεφιλίν
roman: tefilín
lang: Ancient Greek
word: φυλακτήριον
roman: phulaktḗrion
lang: Hebrew
word: תפילין
roman: tfilín
lang: Hebrew
word: טוטפת
roman: totefet
lang: Irish
word: fíleachtaeir
lang: Irish
word: tefillin
lang: Italian
word: filatterio
lang: Latin
word: phylactērium
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: fylakteri
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: bønneremme
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: tefillín
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: bønereime
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: tefillín
lang: Polish
word: filakterie
lang: Old Polish
word: brama
lang: Portuguese
word: filactério
lang: Portuguese
word: tefilin
lang: Romanian
word: filacteră
lang: Russian
word: филакте́рия
roman: filaktérija
lang: Russian
word: тфили́н
roman: tfilín
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: filakterij
lang: Slovak
word: fylaktéri
lang: Slovak
word: tfilin
lang: Slovene
word: filakterija
lang: Slovene
word: tefilin
lang: Spanish
word: filacteria
lang: Swedish
word: tefillin
lang: Tamil
word: நாடா
roman: nāṭā
lang: Turkish
word: tefilin
lang: Ukrainian
word: філактери
roman: filaktery
lang: Ukrainian
word: тфілі́н
roman: tfilín
lang: Welsh
word: phylacter
lang: Yiddish
word: תּפֿילין
roman: tfiln
lang: Catalan
word: filacteri
lang: Dutch
word: fylakterion
lang: French
word: phylactère
lang: Ancient Greek
word: φυλακτήριον
roman: phulaktḗrion
lang: Italian
word: filatterio
lang: Russian
word: филакте́рия
roman: filaktérija
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: филактерѝо̄н
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: filakterij
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: filakterìōn
lang: Catalan
word: filacteri
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 話語卷軸 /话语卷轴
roman: huàyǔjuànzhóu
lang: Danish
word: skriftbånd
lang: Dutch
word: banderol
lang: Dutch
word: spreukband
lang: Finnish
word: tekstinauha
lang: French
word: phylactère
lang: German
word: Spruchband
lang: Polish
word: filakterie
lang: Portuguese
word: filactera
lang: Portuguese
word: filactério
lang: Portuguese
word: bandeirola
lang: Portuguese
word: pergaminho de fala
lang: Portuguese
word: voluta de fala
lang: Swedish
word: språkband