Abracadabra

A magical word said to be formed from the letters of the abraxas, written thus:
A
AB
ABR
ABRA
ABRAC
ABRACA
ABRACAD
ABRACADA
ABRACADAB
ABRACADABR
ABRACADABRA
or the reverse way. The pronunciation of this word, according to Julius Africanus, was equally efficacious either way. According to Serenus Sammonicus, it was used as a spell to cure asthma. Abracalan, or aracalan, another form of the word, is said to have been regarded as the name of a god in Syria and as a magical symbol by the Jews. It seems doubtful whether the abracadabra, or its synonyms, was really the name of a deity.

Sources:

Lévi, Éliphas. Transcendental Magic. London: Rider, 1896. Reprint, New York: Samuel Weiser, 1970.

ab·ra·ca·dab·ra / ˌabrəkəˈdabrə/ • interj. a word said by magicians when performing a magic trick.• n. inf. an implausibly easy effort to achieve a seemingly difficult feat: a little abracadabra, and you've got chocolate mousse. ∎  language, typically in the form of gibberish, used to give the impression of arcane knowledge or power.

ABRACADABRA

ABRACADABRA , magic word or formula used mainly in folk medicine, as an incantation against fevers and inflammations. Several origins for the obscure word have been proposed, most of them regarding it as a derivative of an Aramaic demon-name, now unrecognizable. It occurs first in the writings of Severus Sammonicus, a gnostic physician of the second century c.e. In the same manner as Abracadabra, the name of Shabriri, the demon of blindness, and other magic words were used in Jewish magic, incantations, and amulets. An amulet still in use among some Oriental Jews utilizes a talmudic formula:

(Pes. 112a; Av. Zar. 12b)

SHABRIRI
ABRIRI
RIRI
RI

bibliography:

J. Trachtenberg, Jewish Magic and Superstition (1939), 80 ff., 116 ff.; ej, 1 (1928), 372 ff.

[Dov Noy]

ABRACADABRA (ˌæbrəkəˈdæbrə) Abbreviations and Related Acronyms Associated with Defense, Astronautics, Business, and Radio-electronics (publication of Raytheon Company, Lexington, USA)

abracadabra a word said by conjurors when performing a magic trick. The term is recorded from the late 17th century, as a mystical word engraved and used as a charm against illness; it comes from Latin (from a Greek base), and is first recorded in a 2nd-century poem.