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stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4 |
Why doesn't anybody talk about the word 'abracadabra'? The OED defines it as a "cabalistic word, formerly used as a charm, and believed to have the power, when written in a triangular arrangement, and worn round the neck, to cure agues, etc. Now often used in the general sense of a spell, or pretended conjuring word; a meaningless word of mysterious sound; jargon, gibberish." I believe it has roots in semitic languages (in Hebrew, "abad" means perish, "ka" means like the, and "dabar" means word) referring to the statement 'perish like the word' which when you repeat it and lose a letter each time, it turns into a triangle. But i have never seen this connection anywhere formal. Has anyone?
poet
thea, poet and scientist
www.theaiberall.com
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
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abracadabra
abracadabr
abracadab
abracada
abracad
abraca
abrac
abra
abr
ab
a
a
ab
abr
abra
abrac
abraca
abracad
abracada
abracadab
abracadabr
abracadabra
I have seen both form of the triangle (it works better in some fonts than others)
but thea's idea is a new one--
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379 |
"Abracadabra" is of semitic origin. It is my understanding that it comes from Aramaic, not from Hebrew but I could be wrong  . Abra, however, comes from "bara" (Shoshana, if you are there, would you give the infinitive?) to make or create (as in the opening verses of Genesis: "Bareishit bara Elokim" (in the beginning God made...") The alef (here the vowel 'ah') is [a] future tense of the first person singular (Shoshana, please verify and tweak). The meaning of the expression is, approximately, "I will make as according to your word[s]" Welcome, thea!
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stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Mar 2001
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interesting idea. i will have to check my biblical hebrew grammar book when i get home tonight. Historically, the Canaanite language group (which both Hebrew and Phoenician belong to) and the Aramaic language group were distinct by the end of the 2nd Millennium B.C. But there are overlapping words. i know the word for 'perish' is the same in Aramaic and in Hebrew.
The reason i suggested what i did was that i found a replica of a talisman that had the words 'abbada ke dabra' on it saying it meant 'perish like the word'. i am trying to prove or disprove it.
thea iberall, poet and scientist
www.theaiberall.com
thea, poet and scientist
www.theaiberall.com
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Google "abracadabra origin" and dig in.Yeah! 
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Hmmm. But Aramaic was the language of the Babylonian Exile, which is why it is the language of the Babylonian (as opposed to the Jerusalem) Talmud. The Mishna, however, which is at the head of each group of arguments in the Talmud is in Hebrew. Within the very limited vocabulary of this literature, there are a lot of similarities between words of the two languages. Aramaic is also said to be the one language angles cannot understand. That is why the kaddish must always said in a minion: it bipasses the intercession of the angels and goes straight to God's ear.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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This is interesting, although I don't recognize abreq ad habra as Hebrew, although Barak *is* Hebrew for lightening. In fact, it sounds more like Aramaic to me. Thea can probably set [me/this] straight.
This kind of interpretation is common in cabalistic and related studies, the "hidden meaning" of a word is revealed by different elisions, additions of vowels, the application of number whose value is represented by the letters themselves. The first two of these techniques for "darshening out" meaning are possible because there are no written vowels in the Hebrew alphabet. While they are often interesting in and of themselves, I doubt they shed much light on etymology.
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veteran
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veteran
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There is a Greek construction, supposedly by Pythagoras, called the "abraxis". If interest in this subject keeps up, I'll look it up and supply details.
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