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Hendrickson, Robert. "abracadabra." Writer's Reference Center. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 18 Apr. 2025. <http://fofweb.infobase.com/wrc/Detail.aspx?iPin=EWPO00037>.
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abracadabra

Definition 
One of the few words entirely without meaning, this confusing term is still used in a joking way by those making "magic." It was first mentioned in a poem by Quintus Severus Sammonicus in the second century. A cabalistic word intended to suggest infinity, abracadabra was believed to be a charm with the power to cure toothaches, fevers, and other ills, especially if written on parchment in a triangular arrangement and suspended from the neck by a linen thread. Abracadabra is of unknown origin, though tradition says it is composed of the initials of the Hebrew words Ab (Father), Ben (Son), and Ruach Acadsch (Holy Spirit). When toothache strikes, inscribe the parchment amulet in the following triangular form:

ABRACADABRA
ABRACADABR
ABRACADAB
ABRACADA
ABRACAD
ABRACA
ABRAC
ABRA
ABR
AB
A
See shazam.

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