noli me tangere

[ noh-lahy mee tan-juh-ree, noh-lee; Latin noh-lee me tahng-ge-re ]

noun

1. a person or thing that must not be touched or interfered with.
2. a picture representing Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection.
3. Also noli-me-tange·re. the touch-me-not.

noli-me-tangere

/ ˈnəʊlɪˌmeɪˈtæŋɡərɪ /

noun

1. a warning against interfering or against touching a person or thing
2. a work of art depicting Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene after His Resurrection
3. another name for touch-me-not
4. a cancerous ulcer affecting soft tissue and bone

Word History and Origins

Origin of noli me tangere¹

< Latin: do not touch me (Jesus' words to Mary Magdalene)

Word History and Origins

Origin of noli me tangere¹

from Latin: do not touch me, the words spoken by Christ to Mary Magdalene (Vulgate, John 20:17)

Example Sentences

On one side is a rattlesnake coiled in a cotton plant emblazoned with “Noli me tangere,” Latin for “touch me not.”

From Washington Times

He stops, seems surprised, takes the flowers from her hand, and then gives her a warm embrace – strikingly at odds with his noli me tangere demeanour during the concert.

From The Guardian

If the posthumous Lincoln, like the crucified Christ, seems to say noli me tangere to the novelist, Saunders has both followed and boldly violated the admonition.

From The New Yorker

Two small experimental theatre troupes working on plays by Aeschylus and two puckish young eccentrics give rise to “Out 1: Noli Me Tangere,” Jacques Rivette’s feature film from 1971 that runs five minutes shy of thirteen hours.

From The New Yorker

The episodic structure notwithstanding, the movie does not feel like a television drama; the 773-minute “Out 1: Noli Me Tangere” is an authentic exercise in duration.

From New York Times