gematria
/ɡɪˈmeɪ.tɹi.ə/
gematria noun: a cabalistic method of interpreting Hebrew words, based on numerical values of letters.
Noun
gematria (countable and uncountable, plural gematrias or gematriot or gematrioth)
- A cabalistic method of interpreting Hebrew words, based on numerical values of letters.
- Suppose a secret force of Jesuits, receives each Day a summary of Observations made at Greenwich, and transcalculates it according to a system known to the Kabbalists of the Second Century as Gematria, whereby Messages may be extracted from lines of Text sacred and otherwise, a Knowledge preserv’d...1997, Thomas Pynchon, Mason & Dixon
- each letter in this alphabet also has its own numerical value, what was known among ancient Jewish students of the Torah as ‘gematria’.2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 897
Forms of gematria
| plural | gematrias |
|---|---|
| plural | gematriot |
| plural | gematrioth |
Origin of gematria
From Aramaic גִּימַטְרְיָא (gīmāṭrəyā), from Ancient Greek γεωμετρία (geōmetría, “geometry”). Doublet of geometry.
Words formed from gematria
Questions about gematria
- What does gematria mean?
- Gematria means a cabalistic method of interpreting Hebrew words, based on numerical values of letters.
- What part of speech is gematria?
- Gematria is a noun.
- How do you pronounce gematria?
- Gematria is pronounced /ɡɪˈmeɪ.tɹi.ə/.
- What is the plural of gematria?
- The plural of gematria is gematrias.
Words near gematria in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: gematria (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “gematria.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/gematria. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.