Other forms: talismans
A talisman is an object believed to hold protective power. A lucky talisman, carry a talisman, worn as a talisman.
It differs slightly from an amulet: an amulet wards off harm and a talisman is thought to bring active good fortune, though the two words are used interchangeably. In sport, a team's talisman is its most important player, on whom results are felt to depend, and that use is very common in British football writing. Note the plural talismans, and talismanic, which is used almost entirely in that sporting sense.
1nountalismanAn object believed to hold protective power.
“He always carried a small stone from his home village as a talisman.”
2nounteamsA team's most important player.
“The injured striker is the team's talisman, and they struggle without him.”
talisman is a protective object or person.
Also accepted in games: amulet
Arabic tilasm comes from Greek telesma, meaning a consecration or completed rite. The word travelled through Arabic and French into English, and the religious ceremony became the object left behind by one.
Proto-Indo-European
*kʷel-
Ancient Greek
τέλεσμα — payment
Arabic
طِلَّسْم — payment
French
talisman
English, today
talisman
Built from
From French talisman, partly from Arabic طِلَّسْم (“payment”), from Ancient Greek τέλεσμα (“payment”); and partly directly from Medieval Greek - τέλεσμα (“talisman, religious rite, completion”), from τελέω (“to perform religious rites, to complete”), from τέλος (“end, fulfillment, accomplishment, consummation, completion”). a doublet of telesm.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Belief & Ritual, Myths & Legends, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Jewellery & Watches