talisman

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 15, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>talisman</strong> &#149; \TAL-iss-mun\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p>A <em>talisman</em> is something that is believed to have magic powers and brings good fortune.</p> <p>// In ancient times, the gemstone was worn as a <em>talisman</em> to avert evil.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/talisman">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"Brooklyn-born [Margaret Wise Brown] … demonstrated her quirky personality early on, once toting a rabbit in a basket onto a train. (This rabbit became a <em>talisman</em>, as Brown wrote 26 books whose titles bore the words <em>bunny</em> or <em>rabbit</em>.)" — <em>Kirkus Reviews</em>, 1 Oct. 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>The English language may have borrowed <em>talisman</em> from French, Spanish, or Italian; all three include similar-looking words for a lucky charm that derive from an Arabic word for a charm, <em>ṭilsam</em>. <em>Ṭilsam</em> traces to ancient Greek <em>telein</em>, which means "to initiate into the mysteries."</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>