abracadabra
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 11:16 pm
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.
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.