noli me tangere

American  

[noh-lahy mee tan-juh-ree, noh-lee, noh-lee me tahng-ge-re] / ˈnoʊ laɪ mi ˈtæn dʒə ri, ˈnoʊ li, ˈnoʊ li mɛ ˈtɑŋ gɛˌrɛ /

noun

1. a person or thing that must not be touched or interfered with.

2. a picture representing Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection.

3. Also noli-me-tangere. the touch-me-not.

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noli-me-tangere British  

/ ˈnəʊlɪˌmeɪˈtæŋɡərɪ /

noun

1. a warning against interfering or against touching a person or thing

2. a work of art depicting Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene after His Resurrection

3. another name for touch-me-not

4. a cancerous ulcer affecting soft tissue and bone

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Etymology

Origin of noli me tangere

< Latin: do not touch me (Jesus' words to Mary Magdalene)

Example Sentences

For now, they’re effects that we don’t understand well enough in part because of the four decades that they were the noli me tangere of research chemicals.

From Forbes • Aug. 4, 2015

Mass industrialised society developed, in part, by inculcating us with rigid taboos - not only "noli me tangere", but also "don't talk to me, jostle me, or even acknowledge my physical presence".

From BBC • Jan. 30, 2015

That noli me tangere pose barely masked the inner Waugh: a self-lacerating loner who for a time, Stannard asserts, was certifiably schizophrenic.

From Time Magazine Archive

The parts of the bodies rarely connect well, and have noli me tangere written all over them.

From Time Magazine Archive

And why should jus divinum be such a noli me tangere?

From The Works of Mr. George Gillespie (Vol. 1 of 2) by Gillespie, George