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phylactery

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

WOTD – 27 April 2025

Etymology

A Jewish man (right) wearing a tallit (“tasselled prayer shawl”) and phylacteries (sense 1.1) or tefillin.
Bernhard Strigel, The Annunciation to Saint Anne (1505–1510; detail).[n 1] It depicts the apocryphal story of an angel (right), pictured with a phylactery (sense 3) emerging from his mouth, announcing to Saint Anne that she, though barren, is to miraculously give birth to Mary, later to become the mother of Jesus.

From Late Middle English philacterie, philaterie, filaterie (“amulet; tefilla; balderdash, idle words”),[1] 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.[2]

Sense 1.2 (“fringe which an Israelite was required to wear”) was based on the mistaken assumption that the phylacteries (sense 1.1) referred to in Matthew 23:5 of the Bible[3] were the same as the fringes mentioned in Numbers 15:37–39.[2][4]

Pronunciation

Noun

phylactery (plural phylacteries)

  1. (Judaism)
    2. 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.
      Synonym: (obsolete) phylacter
      • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Matthew xxiij:[5], folio xxxij, verso:
        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]⸝ […]
        This is the only occurrence of the word in the Bible.
      • 1549 February 10 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1548), Erasmus, “The Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Gospell of Saincte Matthew. The .xxiii. Chapter.”, in Nicolas Udall [i.e., Nicholas Udall], transl., The First Tome or Volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testamente, London: […] Edwarde Whitchurche, →OCLC, folio cvii, verso:
        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.
      • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 23:5, signature C3, verso, column 1:
        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, […]
      • 1710 December 11 (Gregorian calendar), Isaac Bickerstaff [et al., pseudonyms; Joseph Addison; Richard Steele], “Thursday, November 30, 1710”, in The Tatler, number 257; republished in [Richard Steele], editor, The Tatler, […], London stereotype edition, volume III, London: I. Walker and Co.;  […], 1822, →OCLC, page 356:
        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.
        The spelling has been modernized.
      • 1821 January 8, [Walter Scott], chapter V, in Kenilworth; a Romance. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; and John Ballantyne, […]; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 83:
        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.
      • 1892, I[srael] Zangwill, “The Pauper Alien”, in Children of the Ghetto […], volume I, London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, book I (The Children of the Ghetto), page 128:
        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.
      • 1915, Edward Mack, “PHYLACTERY”, in James Orr, editor, The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, volume IV (Naarah–Socho), Chicago, Ill.: The Howard-Severance Company, →OCLC, page 2393:
        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.
      • 2003, Avraham Steinberg, “Patient”, in Fred Rosner, transl., Encyclopedia of Jewish Medical Ethics […], volume I (A to Eld), Jerusalem, Israel; Nanuet, N.Y.: Feldheim Publishers, →ISBN, page 787, column 1:
        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.
      1. (figurative, chiefly derogatory) A profession of faith, or religious or traditional observance; also, a reminder.
        • 1645 March 14 (Gregorian calendar), John Milton, “To the Parlament”, in Tetrachordon: Expositions upon the Foure Chief Places in Scripture, which Treat of Mariage, or Nullities in Mariage. […], London: [s.n.], →OCLC:
          […] 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.
        • c. 1670s (date written), Thomas Brown [i.e., Thomas Browne], “Sect[ion] X”, in John Jeffery, editor, Christian Morals, […], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] [A]t the University-Press, for Cornelius Crownfield printer to the University; and are to be sold by Mr. Knapton […]; and Mr. [John] Morphew […], published 1716, →OCLC, part III, page 90:
          To thoughtful Obſervators the vvhole VVorld is a Phylactery, and every thing vve ſee an Item of the VViſdom, Povver, or Goodneſs of God.
        • 1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 252:
          "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.
    4. (archaic) 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.
      • 1715, Guido Pancirollus [i.e., Guido Panciroli], “Of Obelisks”, in The History of Many Memorable Things Lost, which were in Use among the Ancients: And an Account of Many Excellent Things Found, Now in Use among the Moderns, both Natural and Artificial. […], London: […] John Nicholson […], and sold by John Morphew […], →OCLC, page 97:
        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.
      • 1878, Bayard Taylor, Prince Deukalion, Boston, Mass.: Houghton, Osgood and Company; Cambridge, Mass.: The Riverside Press, →OCLC, Act III (A.D. 18——), scene iii, page 112:
        [S]uddenly now, / Full-statured, with uplifted head she walks, / And drops her loosed phylacteries in the dust.
  2. (archaic) Synonym of amulet (“a protective charm or ornament”)
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:amulet
    • 2006, Don C. Skemer, “Textual Amulets for Women”, in Binding Words: Textual Amulets in the Middle Ages (Magic in History), University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, →ISBN, footnote 19, page 240:
      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).
    1. (by extension, fantasy, roleplaying games) An enchanted object used (for example, by a lich) to contain and protect the owner's soul.
      Synonym: (Harry Potter) horcrux
      • 2007 March, Tim Waggoner, chapter 2, in Forge of the Mind Slayers (Blade of the Flame; 2), Renton, Wash.: Wizards of the Coast, →ISBN, page 21:
        "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."
      • 2011, J. L. Connew, “Phase 5: The System Force”, in Origins of the Geomancer (A System Force Novel), [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 112:
        '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.
      • 2017 December, Jason Paul McCartan, “How to … Actually Destroy a Lich”, in Through Dungeons Deeper: A Survival Guide For Dungeoneers: […], [United States]: InfiniBadger Press, →ISBN, page 121:
        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.
  4. (art, historical) 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.
    • 1872 September – 1873 July, Thomas Hardy, “‘We Frolic while ’tis May’”, in A Pair of Blue Eyes. […], volume II, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], published 1873, →OCLC, pages 7–8:
      [T]o bear on their faces, as plainly as on a phylactery, the inscription, "Do, pray, look at the coronet on my panels;" […]
    • 1931 July, John Buchan, “In which Peter is Introduced to Fortune”, in The Blanket of the Dark, London; Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons, published September 1933, →OCLC, page 38:
      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.
    • 2011, Robert S. Petersen, “Popular Prints and Caricature”, in Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels: A History of Graphic Narratives, Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger, ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 28:
      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.
    • 2013, Ana M[aría] Gómez-Bravo, “The Hands Have It”, in Textual Agency: Writing Culture and Social Networks in Fifteenth-century Spain (Toronto Iberic), Toronto, Ont.; Buffalo, N.Y.: University of Toronto Press, →ISBN, page 80:
      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.
    • 2015, Roberto Bartual Moreno, “The Origins of Graphic Narrative in Popular Culture”, in Julio Cañero, Esther Claudio, editors, On the Edge of the Panel: Essays on Comics Criticism, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, →ISBN, part I (What is a Comic? Origins and Definitions), page 38:
      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.
    1. (figurative) A list or record.
  5. (Christianity, historical, obsolete) Synonym of reliquary (“a container to display or hold religious relics”)

Alternative forms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

  • klaf (“parchment used in Jewish ritual contexts”)
  • mezuzah (“parchment scroll of Torah verses in a decorative container”)
  • speech bubble (modern analogue of a speech scroll)

Notes

  1. ^ From the collection of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, Spain.

References

  1. ^ “filatērie, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 “phylactery, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2024; “phylactery, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  3. ^ The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 1611, →OCLC, Matthew 23:5, column 1: “[T]hey make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, […]”
  4. ^ The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 1611, →OCLC, Numbers 15:37–39, column 1:
    And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speake unto the children of Israel, and bidde them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments, […] And it shall bee unto you for a fringe, that ye may looke upon it, and remember all the commandements of the Lord, and doe them: […]

Further reading

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