Misplaced Pages

Magic word

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
(Redirected from Magic words) Word or phrase said to cause magical events This article is about words used in stage magic. For formulae used in ceremonial magic, see magical formula. For other uses, see Magic word (disambiguation).For magic words on Misplaced Pages, see Help:Magic words.
Classic magic words

Magic words are phrases used in fantasy fiction or by stage magicians. Frequently such words are presented as being part of a divine, adamic, or other secret or empowered language. Certain comic book heroes use magic words to activate their powers. Magic words are also used as Easter eggs or cheats in computer games, other software, and operating systems. (For example, the words xyzzy, plugh, and plover were magic words in the classic computer adventure game Colossal Cave Adventure.)

Invocations of magic

Examples of traditional and modern magic words include:

  • Abracadabra – magic word used by magicians.
  • Ajji Majji la Tarajji – Iranian magic word (Persian).
  • Alakazam – a phrase used by magicians.
  • Chhu Montor Chhu – a phrase used by magicians in Bangladesh.
  • Hocus pocus – a phrase used by magicians.
  • Jantar Mantar Jadu Mantar – a phrase used by magicians in India.
  • Presto chango or Hey Presto – used by magicians (probably intended to suggest "quick change").

Magic words in fiction

Craig Conley, a scholar of magic, writes that the magic words used by conjurers may originate from "pseudo-Latin phrases, nonsense syllables, or esoteric terms from religious antiquity", but that what they have in common is "language as an instrument of creation".

See also

References

  1. Ramasami, Ponnadurai (September 2015). "Perspectives of Virtual Conference on Computational Chemistry (VCCC-2014)". Journal of Computational Science. 10: 155. doi:10.1016/j.jocs.2015.08.006. ISSN 1877-7503.
  2. Stibbe, Arran (2005). "ABRACADABRA, ALAKAZAM: Colonialism and the Discourse of Entertainment Magic". Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal. 88 (3/4): 414–415. ISSN 0038-1861. JSTOR 41179134.
  3. Peter Monticup. "Magic Glossary". magictricks.com.
  4. "Magic Words: A Dictionary". The Magician's Hidden Library. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  5. "Panda director 'for He-Man movie'". BBC News. 2009-01-30. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  6. "Alibaba Aur 40 Chor (1954 film) - Misplaced Pages". Misplaced Pages. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  7. "Sesame: Origin, History, Etymology and Mythology". MDidea.com. 2015-11-30. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  8. "Paul Daniels' Wizbit returns to children's TV". 27 May 2009. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  9. Conley, Craig (2008). Magic Words: A Dictionary. Weiser Books. p. 18. ISBN 9781609250508.

External links

Category: