Random article ( of 1089 ) Latest updates

User Tools

Site Tools


content:language:etymology:abracadabra_etymology

Wikenigma - an Encyclopedia of Unknowns Wikenigma - an Encyclopedia of the Unknown

'Abracadabra' etymology

Abracadabra is of unknown origin, and its first occurrence is in the second century works of Serenus Sammonicus, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Several folk etymologies are associated with the word: from phrases in Hebrew that mean "I will create as I speak", or Aramaic "I create like the word", to folk etymologies that point to similar words in Latin and Greek such as abraxas. According to the OED Online, "no documentation has been found to support any of the various conjectures."

Source : Wikipedia

Etymology Online links it to the Late Greek mystic word 'Abraxas' found in various gnostic texts.

However, Abraxas also has enigmatic roots :

The attempts to discover a derivation for the name, Greek, Hebrew, Coptic, or other, have not been entirely successful.

Source : Wikipedia
THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT USE TRACKING, ADVERTISING, OR ANALYTICAL COOKIES OF ANY KIND. All essential cookies (for login status etc) are automatically deleted at the end of the session . . . full details here

Show another (random) article

Suggestions for corrections and ideas for articles are welcomed : Get in touch!


Further resources :