abracadabra
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Magical word used in certain Gnostic writings, relation to Greek Abraxas, a Gnostic deity.
It may also be a corruption of the Aramaic term עַבְדָא כְּדַברָא, avda kedavra; “what was said has been done”; or perhaps, עברא כדברא, avra kedavra; “what has said has come to pass.”
It may also be the combination of three hebrew words ארבע-אחד-ארבע when it is read from right to left [1] .
The Aramaic is the source of the Avada Kedavra killing curse in the Harry Potter books.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Interjection
abracadabra!
- Used to indicate that a magic trick or other illusion has been performed.
[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
abracadabra (uncountable)
- A mystical word or collocation of letters from kabbalism.
- Complicated technicalities, jargon that one does not understand much if at all.
- I don’t know all the theoretical abracadabra about how it works, I’m only its pilot.
[edit] Translations
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
- Vietnamese: câu thần chú, lời nói khó hiểu
[edit] French
[edit] Interjection
abracadabra !
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Noun
abracadabra m. (plural abracadabras)
- An unspecified magical formula.
- (historical) A mystical word from kabbalism.
