phylactery
/fɪˈlæktəɹi/
"phylactery" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“phylactery” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 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 b...
Corpus desk
Index EN-phylactery · phylactery · English
phylactery · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | phylactery |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /fɪˈlæktəɹi/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “phylactery” in English
Rare enough to double-check
phylactery is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /fɪˈlæktəɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 8 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for phylactery in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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 t… The correct English form is phylactery, spelled P-H-Y-L-A-C-T-E-R-Y.
Definition
- 1Either 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.
- 2Either 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.
- 3A 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.
- 4Synonym of amulet (“a protective charm or ornament”).
- 5Synonym of amulet (“a protective charm or ornament”).
- 6A 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.
- 7A 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.
- 8Synonym of reliquary (“a container to display or hold religious relics”).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how phylactery appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
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.
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.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.