טַלִּית
talit
A tallit is the fringed shawl worn in Jewish prayer
What it means
A tallit is a fringed garment worn as a prayer shawl by religious Jews. Twined and knotted fringes called tzitzit hang from its four corners. The cloth is called the beged, garment, and is usually wool or cotton, with silk sometimes used for the large tallit.
When Israelis say it
There are two kinds. The large tallit, tallit gadol, is worn over the clothes for the morning prayers and through the Yom Kippur services, and the small tallit, tallit katan, is worn over or under the clothes and is often just called tzitzit. Said alone, tallit usually means the large one. Customs differ on when someone begins to wear a large tallit: in some Orthodox Ashkenazi communities after marriage, in others from the bar mitzvah, and in some Sephardic communities even before it.
Frequently asked questions
What are tzitzit?
The twined and knotted fringes attached to the four corners of a tallit.
What is the plural of tallit?
Tallitot in Hebrew. Tallits is common in English, and Ashkenazi use has talleysim.