abraxas
a word of unknown significance found on charms, especially amulets, of the late Greco-Roman world and linked with both Gnostic beliefs and magical practices by the early church fathers.
Origin of abraxas
1Words Nearby abraxas
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use abraxas in a sentence
Upon them were engraved mysterious hieroglyphs and figures, called abraxas, and they are known as Abraxoides.
Scarabs | Isaac MyerThe breeding work concerns fowls, canaries, and the Currant moth (abraxas grossulariata).
Evolution in Modern Thought | Ernst HaeckelThis condition of affairs exists not only in the moth abraxas, but also in the fowl as shown by Pearl.
The Organism as a Whole | Jacques LoebAfter midsummer, the conspicuous cream, black and yellow-spotted 'Magpie' moth (abraxas grossulariata) is common in gardens.
The Life-Story of Insects | Geo. H. Carpenterabraxas-stones were so called from having the word abraxas or Abrasax engraved on them.
Finger-Ring Lore | William Jones
British Dictionary definitions for abraxas
abrasax (əˈbræsəks)
/ (əˈbræksəs) /
an ancient charm composed of Greek letters: originally believed to have magical powers and inscribed on amulets, etc, but from the second century ad personified by Gnostics as a deity, the source of divine emanations
Origin of abraxas
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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