Definition of "phylactery" []

• Judaism Either of two small leather boxes, each containing strips of parchment inscribed with quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures, one of which is strapped to the forehead and the other to the left arm; traditionally worn by Jewish men during morning worship, except on the Sabbath and holidays. (noun)
• An amulet. (noun)
• A reminder. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Those ribbons got the name of phylactery, borrowed from the Greek word for the containers for small scrolls of Hebrew scripture."
• "The word phylactery comes from a word signifying to keep, preserve, or guard."
• "These characters, who have descended without interruption from a numerous family in the days of our Saviour, are here so accurately delineated – the very cut of the phylactery is so well observed – that we should reckon it one of the most useful parts of the present work, were it not for the strange concession which is made to them in the same breath."