prayer shawl
3
7.1
- noun
- /ˈprɛər ʃɔl/
:
tallit
- The prayer shawl was beautifully crafted, featuring intricate designs and fringes tied in ritual knots.
- tallit, a Jewish prayer shawl
- Jewish prayer shawl
- wrapped in a prayer shawl
Examples
-
Jews in prayer shawls and phylacteries were either standing in place or walking about.
Fiction book (1998) -
The scribe spread a prayer shawl over a clean table, and Reuben gently laid copper on the white wool cloth.
Fiction book (1998) -
For instance, we always keep our heads covered, and always wear a little prayer shawl.
-
Four women were detained for hours by police for wearing white or black and white prayer shawls.
Blog text (19) -
Yes, you put on the prayer shawl first, before the phylacteries.
Fiction book (1998) -
I had expected an old man with a long white beard and a fringed prayer shawl.
Fiction book (1996) -
Jews stood apart, on the other side of the church, where Rabbi Daniel, prayer shawl over his head, pronounced a benediction.
Fiction book (1998) -
My father was wrapped in his prayer shawl, his left arm and forehead bound in phylacteries.
Fiction book (1991) -
During morning prayers, he draped the prayer shawl over his shoulders as a sign of reverence.
-
Traditionally, Jewish men wear a prayer shawl during morning services to fulfill a religious commandment.
Synonyms
39
1.0
A large cloth worn over the shoulders sometimes over the head to keep warm or for decoration
1
9.9
A rectangular Jewish prayer shawl with fringes on each corner worn during morning prayers
1
9.9
A shawl Jewish men wear during morning prayers with special knotted fringes at each corner
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'prayer shawl' is transparently compositional: a shawl used for prayer is directly inferable from 'prayer' (prayer) + 'shawl' (a piece of fabric worn). While specific ritual details (knotted fringes, association with Jewish morning prayers) are cultural specifics a learner might not know, the core purpose of the item is immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Prayer shawl comes from a Jewish practice of wearing a large shawl with knotted fringes on each corner during morning prayers; the fringes served as a 'reminder' of religious rules. That's why a prayer shawl today means the special shawl a person wears for 'prayers'.