Made in Arabic
talisman
الطِّلَسْم
A cotton shirt painted from collar to hem in ink and gold, made in northern India or the Deccan. According to the Met, the whole Qur'an is written in its squares and medallions, framed by the ninety-nine names of God in gold; it was believed to protect its wearer. Arabic ṭilasm, taken from Greek, passed from its plural ṭilasmāt into French and then English as talisman.
- Instrument
- a shirt written over in ink and gold, northern India or the Deccan, 15th–early 16th century
The path between languagestelesma → ṭilasm, ṭilasmāt → talisman
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ملكٌ عامّ
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