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The Learning Kingdom's Cool Word of the Day for April 9, 1999
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abracadabra [n. ab-ruh-cuh-DAB-ruh]
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The magician waves the wand and intones "Abracadabra." Something
amazing and mysterious happens. This very ancient word has always
been associated with mystical powers, and it comes down almost
unchanged from its origin.
The oldest known users of this word were members of the ancient
Alexandrian Gnostic sect of the Basilidians in the second and third
centuries AD. They probably based their mystical word "abrasadabra"
on the name of their deity, Abraxas. Another possible origin involves
the three Hebrew words Ab (the father), Ben (the son) and Acadsch (the
holy spirit).
Today the word might be used frivolously as a flourish for parlor
tricks, but in the past its profound mystical powers were taken very
seriously.
For many centuries it was worn as a charm, written in an inverted
triangle. At the top the whole word appeared, and on each succeeding
line the last letter was removed, until the last line showed only the
letter "a." With each letter that disappeared, it was believed that
one trouble would disappear.
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