Notarikon
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Notarikon (Hebrew: נוטריקון) is a method of deriving a word, akin to the creation of an acronym, by using each of its initial (Hebrew: ראשי תיבות) or final (Hebrew: סופי תיבות) letters to stand for another word, forming a sentence or idea out of the words. Another variation entails using the first and last letters, or the two middle letters of a word, etc. to form another word. The word "notarikon" is borrowed from Greek language (νοταρικόν)), which in its turn was derived from the Latin word "notarius," meaning "short-hand writer."[1]
Notarikon is one of the three ancient methods, the other two being gematria and temurah, used by the Kabbalists to rearrange words and sentences in the Bible to derive the esoteric substratum and deeper spiritual meaning of the words. Notarikon was also used in the protoscience alchemy.
Rashi on Shemos 20:12 (the mitzva of Kibud Av v'Em (honoring one's parents)) says: "שֶׁדִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה נוֹטְרִיקוֹן הֵם נִדְרָשִׁים, מִכְּלָל הֵן לַאו וּמִכְּלָל לַאו הֵן". The chidush here is that the word נוטריקון in gematria = מכלל הן לאו ומכלל לאו הן.
[edit] See also
- Hebrew acronyms
- AGLA, notarikon for Atah Gibor Le-olam Adonai
[edit] References
- ^ The Dictionary of Jewish usage: a guide to the use of Jewish terms, By Sol Steinmetz, ISBN 0742543870 , 2005, [article "Notarikon"]
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