filakto

Noun

filakto (plural filakta)

1. A sacramental (sacred sign) that is pinned to one's clothing in order to ward off Satan.
   • I crawled under the epitaphion, too, and Spiridoula tipped me off that people take flowers from the epitaphion home with them after the evening service to save as filakta — protective amulets.2004, Eleni N. Gage, North of Ithaka, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Press, published 2005, →ISBN, page 68
   • Some babies wear a 'filakto' which is a small cloth pouch containing something religious such as a flower from the Epitaphio, a little piece of the holy cross, or some soil from Jerusalem. This is pinned on Baby's left shoulder blade.2006, Rosalind Franklin, Baby Lore: Superstitions and Old Wives Tales From the World Over Related to Pregnancy, Birth and Babycare, revised edition, Liskeard, Cornwall: Diggory Press, →ISBN, pages...