curse tablet

English

Noun

curse tablet (plural curse tablets)

1. (historical) A stone tablet inscribed with a curse, as used in parts of the ancient Mediterranean to target someone with maleficent magic.
   • 2010, Allan Zola Kronzek, Elizabeth Kronzek, The Sorcerer's Companion, 3rd edition, page 52:

     A simple curse tablet might be inscribed with the words “As this piece of lead grows cold, so will John Smith.”

   • 2017, Ronald Hutton, The Witch, Yale University Press, published 2018, page 65:

     Curse tablets persisted in their original Greek homeland, and spread out from it across much of the empire.

Translations

a tablet inscribed with a curse

• Latin: dēfixiō f