pentacle

American  

[pen-tuh-kuhl] / ˈpɛn tə kəl /

noun

1. pentagram.

2. a similar figure, as a hexagram.

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pentacle British  

/ ˈpɛntəkəl /

noun

1. another name for pentagram

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Etymology

Origin of pentacle

First recorded in 1585–95, pentacle is from the Italian word pentacolo five-cornered object. See penta-, -cle ¹

Explanation

A five-pointed star can be called a pentacle. Some pagan religions consider the pentacle to be a deeply spiritual symbol. The pentacle — which is also called a pentagram — has been thought of as having protective or powerful magical properties for hundreds of years. The fact that a pentacle can be drawn with one continuous line is sometimes seen as meaningful or mystical. Pentacles are often used as one of the four suits in a tarot deck of fortune-telling cards (although sometimes they're called "coins"). The Greek root of pentacle is pente, "five."

Example Sentences

As part of “Suspending Time,” a dance series presented with the arts organization Pentacle, the choreographer Zvi Gotheiner offers “Stairway,” a 20-minute site-specific work taking place along the museum’s spiral staircase.

From New York Times • Mar. 22, 2018

Since 2009, he has documented his passion for the creek — in oddly beautiful photography and beautifully odd prose — on his blog, The Newtown Pentacle.

From New York Times • Jun. 16, 2012

The yearly retainer required by a firm like Pentacle, she added, was simply unrealistic for choreographers like herself, who have unpredictable finances and no set company structure, and work project to project.

From New York Times • Dec. 31, 2010

I turned-to now to fit the Electric Pentacle, setting it so that each of its 'points' and 'vales' coincided exactly with the 'points' and 'vales' of the drawn pentagram upon the floor.

From Carnacki, the Ghost Finder by Hodgson, William Hope

Then, 'round him, I drew upon the floor the figure of a Pentacle, in chalk.

From Carnacki, the Ghost Finder by Hodgson, William Hope