interjection
abracadabra
abracadabra
Classical[ab.raˈka.da.bra]Ecclesiastical[ab.raˈkaː.da.bra]
Meaning
- abracadabra
Inscrībis chartae quod dīcitur "abracadabra", Saepius, et subter repetis, sed dētrahe summae, Ut magis atque magis dēsint elementa figūrīs Singula, quae semper rapiēs, et cētera fīgēs, dōnec in angustum redigātur littera cōnum:
Write on a piece of paper the word abracadabra, repeating it below while taking away the last letter, so that a single letter is further and further lacking, until it has the shape of a cone: remember to surround the [patient's] neck with linen with the paper hanging from it.c. 200 CE, Quintus Serenus Sammonicus, Liber Medicinalis
Origins
Unknown. Relationships have been suggested with Abraxas (a Gnostic deity), and with various Aramaic or Hebrew terms עַבְרָא כְּדַבְרָא (avra kedavra, literally “what was said has come to pass”), עַבְדָא כְּדַבְרָא (avda kedavra, literally “what was said has been done”); אַרְבַּע־אֶחַד־אַרְבַּע (arba-eḥad-arba, literally “four-one-four”), but there is little supporting evidence.
In English words that came into English from abracadabra
- abracadabraabracadabra