ABRACADABRA

[Judaic] A Cabbalistic charm that was supposed to get rid of any illness if inscribed on an amulet. Its exact meaning is not clear, but there are several posibilities: the word is formed of the first few letters of the Phoenician alphabet (A-Bra-Ca-Dabra) or it is the name of an old disease demon. It could also be derived from the Aramaic avada kedavra, meaning "may the thing be destroyed", or from "abra kadibra" which is translated as "it will be made like it is said."