tallit means A traditional Jewish prayer shawl with tassels which covers the chest and upper part of the back.
tallit is pronounced /tɑˈliːt/.
Why “tallit” is a great word
A traditional Jewish prayer shawl, rectangular and fringed at its corners with knotted tzitzit, worn during morning prayers. From the Hebrew טַלִּית (talít), meaning 'gown' or 'cloak'. Unlike "tallis," its Yiddish-inflected echo, or the "challah cover," a cloth for ritual objects, the tallit is a garment to be entered into, a personal sanctuary. It is the deliberate, weighted drape over the shoulders at dawn, the tactile whisper of the fringes against the fingers, and the private canopy that shelters the wearer from the world—a woven space where the finite individual meets the infinite.
Etymology
From Hebrew טַלִּית (talít).
noun
- A traditional Jewish prayer shawl with tassels which covers the chest and upper part of the back.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- tzitzit 71% match — The knotted fringes of the tallit. vs tallit →
- tichel 64% match — A headscarf often worn by married orthodox Jewish women in compliance with the code of modesty known as tzniut, though individuals from other sects of Judaism also wear them depending on personal choice. vs tallit →
- tachrich 61% match — A traditional simple white burial furnishings, usually made from 100% pure linen, in which the bodies of deceased Jews are dressed for interment after undergoing a taharah (ritual purification). vs tallit →
- mitpachat 60% match — A kind of Jewish headscarf; a tichel. vs tallit →
- tsitsith 60% match — any of the four tassels or fringes on garments worn by the Jews in remembrance of the commandments vs tallit →
- gartel 58% match — A belt or sash used in prayer. vs tallit →
- tish 55% match — A festive meal for a religious event, especially Shabbat. vs tallit →
- kittel 54% match — A white linen or cotton robe worn by religious Ashkenazi Jews on holidays, in the synagogue, or at home when leading the Passover seder. vs tallit →