ĂMŬLĒTUM

( περίαπτον , περίαμμα , φυλακτήριον ), an amulet. This word in Arabic (hamalet) means that which is suspended . It was probably brought into Europe by Arabian merchants, together with the articles to which it was applied. An amulet was any object,—a stone, a plant, an artificial production, or a piece of writing,—which was suspended from the neck, or tied to any part of the body, for the purpose of warding off calamities and securing advantages of any kind. Faith in the virtues of amulets was almost universal in the ancient world, so that the art of medicine consisted in a very considerable degree of directions for their application.