apotropaion
English edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀποτρόπαιον (apotrópaion).
Noun edit
apotropaion (plural apotropaia)
- Something that wards off evil; an amulet or magic charm.
- 1990, Camille Paglia, Sexual Personae:
- Walking in nature, we see, identify, name, recognize. This recognition is our apotropaion, that is, our warding off of fear.
- 2015, Lisa Trentin, The Hunchback in Hellenistic and Roman Art, page 52:
- Ancient literature provides clear evidence for the body of the hunchback functioning as an apotropaion.