talisman
noun
- magical object
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈtæl.ɪsˌmæn/ / /ˈtæl.ɪz.mən/
noun
Etymology: Uncertain. Perhaps a corruption of some Arabic word.
- A mullah (Islamic religious scholar).
verb
Etymology: From French talisman, partly from Arabic طِلَّسْم (ṭillasm, “payment”), from Ancient Greek τέλεσμα (télesma, “payment”); and partly directly from Byzantine Greek τέλεσμα (télesma, “talisman, religious rite, completion”), from τελέω (teléō, “to perform religious rites, to complete”), from τέλος (télos, “end, fulfillment, accomplishment, consummation, completion”). Doublet of telesm.
- To adorn with a talisman.
“The second in his saddle reeled, / Down thundered man and horse;— / Oft I essayed with blow and thrust, / As oft a foeman rolled in dust; / But, ah, what could a single arm, / Though talismaned by beauty’s charm, / Against a host?—for love—for life— / I waged awhile the desperate strife; / ’T was vain—I fell—was left for dead— / And rescued was th’ unwilling maid!”
“Lo, under their coats, amulets of idols! Possibly such charms talismaned every breast in his army.”