ABRAXAS
\ɐbɹˈaksəs], \ɐbɹˈaksəs], \ɐ_b_ɹ_ˈa_k_s_ə_s]\
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A mystical word used as a charm and engraved on gems among the ancients; also, a gem stone thus engraved.
By Oddity Software
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A mystical word used as a charm and engraved on gems among the ancients; also, a gem stone thus engraved.
By Noah Webster.
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a-braks'as, n. a mystic word, or an amulet, consisting of a gem engraved therewith on some part of it, often bearing a mystical figure of combined human and animal form, used as a charm. [Said to be coined by the Egyptian Gnostic Basilides in 2d century to express 365 in Greek letters; thus [Greek: abraxas] used as numerals = 1 + 2 + 100 + 1 + 60 + 1 + 200. But Mr C. W. King finds its origin in Heb. ha-b'r[=a]k[=a]h, 'the blessing,' or 'sacred name,' used as the title of a Gnostic deity representing the 365 emanations of the Divine Pl[=e]r[=o]ma or fullness.]
By Thomas Davidson
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A word first used by the Basilidians, a Gnostic sect, as expressing the number of spirits or deities subject to the supreme deity, 365. The letters which make up the word A. stand in Greek numerals for 1, 2, 100, I, 60, I, 200 = 365. [Pers. Abraxas or Abrasas, God.] see Abracadabra. Stones have been found bearing this name written, together with an emblem, the body of a man, or serpent, or fowl.
By Henry Percy Smith