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stranger
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stranger
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Hello all,
I was wondering if someone knew a single word (preferably English, but I would be curious to hear about other languages if you know) that either meant or refers to the concept of "blessing and curse".
Thanks!
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newbie
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newbie
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In Polish - 'urok' Depending on the outcome, it can be either blessing or curse. It is usually cast by witches 
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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straight away I thought 'children' but I know thats not what you were after...
what about (and similar to elifit's post)
incantation...as in a verbal charm or spell.
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Carpal Tunnel
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----please, draw me a sheep----
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newbie
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newbie
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I think hex refers to curse only
Last edited by elifit; 01/24/2011 7:53 AM.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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you're probably correct. I got to thinking of words
that can mean either.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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old hand
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old hand
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Mixed blessing, but that's two words.
Peter
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Carpal Tunnel
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I have it in my mind that the Amish have what are called hex signs on their barns and they're there to ward off evil. That would be a kind of blessing.
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old hand
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old hand
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Pennsylvania Dutch, yes; Amish, no.
Peter
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Carpal Tunnel
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I did not know that about the PA Dutch.
A kind of hex-blessing, of sorts.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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old hand
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I gather that there's no real consensus whether they're supposed to have any magical power or are just decoration; nor whether the "hex" is in the sense of a charm, or because many of the designs are hexagonal. Language is so much fun!
Peter
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old hand
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In hindu mythology*, to ask for or to grant a boon is basically to grant you your desire which can be a blessing or a curse. I do not know whether that word fits your requirements.
Eta: *in all mythology
Last edited by Avy; 01/25/2011 11:14 AM.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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I have it in my mind that the Amish have what are called hex signs on their barns and they're there to ward off evil. That would be a kind of blessing. Is it a standard saying? Can you post what it is?
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Carpal Tunnel
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I have it in my mind that the Amish have what are called hex signs on their barns and they're there to ward off evil. That would be a kind of blessing. Is it a standard saying? Can you post what it is? I'm not sure what part of this you asking if it's a standard saying. And Tromboniator is right, it's from Pennsylvania Dutch. According to the AHD we got the word hex from Pennsylvania Dutch where it referred to sorcery, which could be used for good or evil, I suppose. We, in our callous disregard for meanings of words in languages we steal them from, narrowed it down to a the evil aspect.
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old hand
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Carpal Tunnel
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Omen to me has quite a threatening connotation. Fate or destiny
more neutral?
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old hand
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depends on your POV
Omen–noun
1.anything perceived or happening that is believed to portend a good or evil event or circumstance in the future; portent.
2.a prognostic.
3.prophetic significance; presage: a bird of ill omen.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Red sky at night, sailors delight: Good Omen.
An Omen can be good or bad.
Last edited by LukeJavan8; 01/26/2011 12:12 AM.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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Carpal Tunnel
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back to the OP; what's wanted is blessing AND curse, not blessing OR curse?
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Carpal Tunnel
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depends on your POV
Omen–noun
1.anything perceived or happening that is believed to portend a good or evil event or circumstance in the future; portent.
2.a prognostic.
3.prophetic significance; presage: a bird of ill omen.
Correct: POV. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning. Thus omen can be good and/or bad.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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Pooh-Bah
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I'm not sure what part of this you asking if it's a standard saying......
the bit about "Amish have what are called hex signs on their barns"..do they have one sign or do they make up a different one each time the put up a barn ie more than one HEX Sign?
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old hand
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A boon can be good and bad, I think. King whatsisname touched stuff to become gold. That was good and bad, a blessing and a curse.
Eta:Midas
Last edited by Avy; 01/26/2011 1:15 AM.
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old hand
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Candy– Again, NOT Amish, but there's no standard design, it's infinitely variable. That's the fun and the beauty of them.
Peter
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Carpal Tunnel
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Interestingly, the Amish did not adopt the custom of decorating their barns, and do not use hex signs to this day. Neat article: Amish News
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Carpal Tunnel
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A most interesting site to purchase Amish items.
Thanks Jackie.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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Pooh-Bah
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Good read....thanks. I guess the idea of a hex on the Amish barn was propagated by TV... becoming an 'Urban Myth'
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Pooh-Bah
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Candy– Again, NOT Amish..... got it now Peter.
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Carpal Tunnel
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And certain movies, I did not understand either.
Thanks Peter.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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stranger
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Maybe abracadabra ? "This, he explained, diminishes the hold of the spirit of the disease over the patient. Other Roman emperors, including Geta and Alexander Severus, were followers of the medical teachings of Serenus Sammonicus and are likely to have used the incantation as well. Some scholars have argued that the incantation has its source in the Jewish mystical teachings of the Kabbalah, and that the word itself is a corruption of two Hebrew words: ha-brachah, meaning "the blessing" (used in this sense as a euphemism for "the curse") and dabra, an Aramaic form of the Hebrew word dever, meaning "pestilence." They point to a similar kabbalistic cure for blindness, in which the name of Shabriri, the demon of blindness, is similarly diminished. Other scholars are skeptical of this origin and claim that the idea of diminishing the power of demons was common throughout the ancient world, and that Abracadabra was simply the name of one such demon."
Last edited by garygnu; 01/26/2011 3:05 AM.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Most interesting, as are the other sites.
Thanks and welcome garygnu
----please, draw me a sheep----
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stranger
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stranger
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You are welcome, Luke. Thanks, that's very g-nice of you.
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Ooh! Ooh! Gary should get a special designation: a gnubie. 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Ooh! Ooh! Gary should get a special designation: a gnubie. Indeed, indeed. So gnoble of you, Jackie.
Last edited by LukeJavan8; 01/27/2011 4:22 PM.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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Carpal Tunnel
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Interesting. Aren't a great many things blessing and curse as tied together? ( many of our inventions, old age, wealth, poverty, you name it...) And is it not a vain effort to try find one word for sort of this inevitable dualism?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Good point, Bran, I like the thought.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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stranger
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lol, Jackie. Is that like gneolagnium? My kids used to equate being called a gnubie to a curse.
Luke, gnoble like gneon?
Bran...gneigh, gnary.
Gnitid morning!
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Carpal Tunnel
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----please, draw me a sheep----
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Carpal Tunnel
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This glimmergneis is a real word.
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Carpal Tunnel
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I had forgotten this word for a very long time. Found a large piece as a teenager, and have it somewhere. I'll have to look it up.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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stranger
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