Dictionary

periapt en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈpɛɹɪapt/ (UK)

Etymology

From Middle French periapte, from Ancient Greek περίαπτον (períapton, “amulet”), noun use of περίαπτος (períaptos, “hung round”), from περι- (peri-, “peri-”) + ἅπτος (háptos, “fastened”).

Meanings

1. A charm worn on a necklace; an amulet.
   • That is the secret of this vault, Miss Thornberry. It is his living tomb, and the periapt you wear around your neck is his epitaph. 2003, Hannah Howell, His Immortal Embrace, Kensington Books,, →ISBN, page 232:
   • The passage in the Greek liturgy of St. Chrysostom...became a charm for intractable hemorrhage (written on the part affected or worn as a periapt) 1921, Fielding H. Garrison, An Introduction to the History of Medicine, W.B. Saunders Co., page 41:
   • [Aaron’s Breastplate] was a decoration, from the costliness of its nature; a periapt, for it was suspended round his neck by golden chains; a talisman, for it ensured the divine protection to the tribes whose names were thereon engraven. 1867, Charles William King, The Natural History of Precious Stones and of the Precious Metals, Bell & Daldy (London), Deighton, Bell, & Co. (Cambridge), page 326
   • Virility is sustained, preserved, even recaptured, by man's ingenuities, by exotic foods and drinks, by rare herbal compounds, by fantastical manipulations, goetic periapts. 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page iii:
   • The occipital bone of an asses head in a skin is also a good periapt. 1864, Thomas Oswald Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England, volume 1, preface, page xx:
   • Of all people who ever lived, the Persians were perhaps most remarkable for their unshaken credulity in amulets, spells, periapts, and similar charms, framed, it was said, under the influence of particular planets, and bestowing high medical powers, as well as the means of advancing men's fortunes in various manners. 1825, Walter Scott, The Talisman, A.L. Burt Company (1832), 9-10

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