pentacle
/ˈpɛnt.ə.kl̩/ noun
Forms pentacles
- noun A flat talisman, almost always star-shaped, made of parchment, sheet metal, or other substance, marked with a magic symbol or symbols, used in magical evocation.
- noun (Wicca) A pentagram, especially one that is used for magical or mystical purposes.
- noun (Wicca) A circumscribed pentagram.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle French pentacle, from Old French pentacol (“pendant”), from pent (“hangs”), a (“from”), and col (“neck”), thus "hangs from neck". Likely reanalyzed in medieval times as coming from penta- (“five”) and -culum (object forming suffix), as evidenced by the Latinized form pentaculum and the narrowing of the modern sense to a five-pointed design, especially a pentagram.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A figure composed of two equilateral triangles intersecting so as to form a six-pointed star, --used in early ornamental art, and also with superstitious import by the astrologers and mystics of the Middle Ages.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pentacle”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details