Meaning & use
tallis
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Meaning
nouncountablereligion
A rectangular fringed shawl, usually of wool or silk, that Jewish worshippers wrap around their shoulders during morning prayer.
Grammar: Countable: a tallis, two tallises. Sephardic and modern Hebrew speakers use the spelling tallit.
Patterns
- wear a tallis
- wrap oneself in a tallis
He folded his tallis carefully after the service.
On his thirteenth birthday, the boy received his first tallis from his grandfather.
She stitched a blue stripe along the edge of the tallis.
Word forms
| plural | tallises |
|---|
Common combinations
- wear a tallis
- Men in the congregation wear a tallis during morning prayers.
- wrap in a tallis
- He wrapped himself in his tallis and began to pray.
- tallis bag
- His tallis bag was embroidered with his initials.
- fringes of the tallis
- The fringes of the tallis remind the wearer of the commandments.
- tallis and tefillin
- He packed his tallis and tefillin for the trip.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tallit
- Tallit is the same item, spelled in the Hebrew pronunciation common in Israel and in many English texts.
- prayer shawl
- Prayer shawl is the plain English description, understood by everyone, while tallis is the Yiddish-influenced term.
- tallit gadol
- Tallit gadol means large tallis, used to distinguish it from the small garment worn all day.
Word family
- tallit noun
- the same garment in the standard Hebrew spelling
- tzitzit noun
- the knotted fringes attached to the corners
- tallit katan noun
- a small fringed garment worn under the clothes
Commonly confused: tallis or tefillin?
tallis vs tefillin
Tefillin are small leather boxes with straps worn on the head and arm during weekday prayer. A tallis is the fringed shawl.
Practice
Which item is worn over the shoulders by Jewish worshippers at prayer and has fringes at the corners?
Choose one answer.
A tallis is the fringed prayer shawl. Tefillin are leather boxes with straps, a kippah is a small cap, and a menorah is a candelabrum.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tallis”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.