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abracadabra

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 11:16 pm
by eberntson
exclamation
a word said by conjurors when performing a magic trick.

noun
[mass noun] informal
language used to give the impression of arcane knowledge or power:
I get so fed up with all the mumbo jumbo and abracadabra

1. a mystical word or expression used in incantations, on amulets, etc., as a magical means of warding off misfortune, harm, or illness.
2. any charm or incantation using nonsensical or supposedly magical words.
3. meaningless talk; gibberish; nonsense.

Origin:
1690–1700; < Late Latin, probably < Late Greek, perhaps reflecting recitation of the initial letters of the alphabet; compare abecedary.

More Origin:
late 17th century (as a mystical word engraved and used as a charm to ward off illness): from Latin, first recorded in a 2nd-century poem by Q. Serenus Sammonicus, from a Greek base.

Other Origin: The first known mention of the word was in the third century AD in a book called Liber Medicinalis.

Have found this word in English, German, and French literature and movies.

Re: abracadabra

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 1:13 am
by Perry Lassiter
Thanks for pointing out the ABCD thing. The laxt BR must have camouflaged it from me.

Re: abracadabra

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 1:15 am
by Philip Hudson
If one must use a word for mystic or pseudomagical prompts, by all means use abracadabra. Never say "hocus pocus". This is a corruption of the first words of the Latin Mass and is an insult to the entire Christian faith..

Re: abracadabra

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 12:26 am
by Philip Hudson
eberntson: Remember abecedarians were the anti-alphabet folk, touting illiteracy as the shining path to righteousness, during the radical phase of the Protestant reformation.

Re: abracadabra

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 1:10 pm
by LukeJavan8
If one must use a word for mystic or pseudomagical prompts, by all means use abracadabra. Never say "hocus pocus". This is a corruption of the first words of the Latin Mass and is an insult to the entire Christian faith..

For sure
HOC EST enim CORPUS Meum: " for This is My Body".