pentacle

Meaning

1. A flat talisman, almost always star-shaped, made of parchment, sheet metal, or other substance, marked with a magic symbol or symbols, used in magical evocation.
2. A pentagram, or a disk with a pentagram on it, especially one that is used for magical or mystical purposes.
3. A circumscribed pentagram.
4. A figure formed by two equilateral triangles intersecting regularly so as to form a six-pointed star.

Synonyms

pentagram

pentangle

pentagon

pentahedron

five-pointed star

Translations

pentacle

pentacle

Pentagram

πεντάλφα

pentagramme

pentalpha

pentacolo

pentaculum

pentagrama

pentagrama

الشكل الخماسي

pentáculo

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈpɛnt.ə.kl̩/

Etymology

PIE word
*pénkʷe
From Middle French pentacle, from Old French pentacol (“pendant”), from pent (“hangs”), a (“from”), and col (“neck”), thus "hangs from neck". Likely reanalyzed in medieval times as coming from penta- (“five”) and -culum (object forming suffix), as evidenced by the Latinized form pentaculum and the narrowing of the modern sense to a five-pointed design, especially a pentagram.