HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

ab·ra·ca·dab·ra

(ăb′rə-kə-dăbrə)

1. A magical charm or incantation having the power to ward off disease or disaster.

2. Foolish or unintelligible talk.

interj.

Used by a magician just before completing a trick or an illusion.

[Late Latin magical formula of unknown origin.]

Word History: The word abracadabra is first attested in a poem about medical matters attributed to the Roman author Quintus Serenus Sammonicus, who lived around the second century AD. In one of the poem's prescriptions for magical cures, the letters of the word abracadabra are written on papyrus in an inverted triangle and worn as an amulet around the neck. The top line of letters in the triangle consists of the word abracadabra, and one letter is subtracted from the end of this word in each line below it: abracadabr, abracadab, abracada, and so forth. At last only the letter a remains to form the vertex of the triangle. As the letters disappear, so supposedly does the disease or trouble.

(click for a larger image)

abracadabra

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

American Heritage Dictionary Products

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

THE USAGE PANEL

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

American Heritage Dictionary Products