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notarikon

notarikon noun: a cabalistic method of deriving a phrase from a word, using the letters of the word as initial letters of words in the sentence.

Noun

notarikon

  1. A cabalistic method of deriving a phrase from a word, using the letters of the word as initial letters of words in the sentence.
    • Rashi explains the second phrase in his commentary to the parallel section in Berakhot 24a, s.v. takhshitin shebifnim: "Kumaz — a defuss of the uterus that they would make for their daughters, and they would pierce the walls of the uterus as one pierces the ears and insert it so that men would not...2024, David Golinkin, “Is Body Piercing Permitted According To Jewish Law”, in Responsa in a Moment, volume 4, page 192
  2. A cabalistic method of creating a word from initial, middle and final letters (in any combination) of words in a phrase.
    • The Hebrew word zahav (ZaHaB) is the notarikon (shorthand) for Zan, Ha'aret, and Bonayh Yerushalayim.1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 120

Origin of notarikon

From Hebrew נוטריקון, borrowed from Ancient Greek νοταρικόν (notarikón).

Questions about notarikon

What does notarikon mean?
Notarikon means a cabalistic method of deriving a phrase from a word, using the letters of the word as initial letters of words in the sentence.
What part of speech is notarikon?
Notarikon is a noun.

Words near notarikon in the dictionary

  1. notarially
  2. notaries
  3. notaries public
  4. notaries publics
  5. notaries-at-law
  6. notarikon
  7. notario
  8. notarisation
  9. notarisations
  10. notarise
  11. notarised

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: notarikon (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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