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Aha Moment Maker: Word Magic

by Your friends at OIC on December 14, 2013

Abracadabra

ANCIENT ROME—Today, “abracadabra” is a word we instantly recognize and associate with magicians and magic tricks. However, the history of this unique word is as much medical, as it is magical.

Abracadambra TriangleThe first recorded use of he word “abracadabra” was in a Latin medical poem by the Roman physician Quintus Serenus Sammonicus in the 2nd Century AD. His prescription for those with malaria or fever was to wear an amulet around their neck with “abracadabra” written in the form of a triangle. The contention was that this “formula” would funnel the sickness out of the body.

It is widely believed that the word existed prior to Sammonicus putting his “cure” in writing, and there are multiple theories on its true origin. What can be said for sure is that well into the 17th Century, the word “abracadabra” continued to belong to the medical community, and presumably rabbits had to find their own way out of hats.

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