Avada Kedavra (was Re: Re: A varied post on Latin)

[Ellimist15 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 3339

Amanda said:

> I thought Avada Kedavra was intended to be interpreted as the un-garbled,
> original form of the standard "magic word" abracadabra. This might be a
> bit of dark humor, that the spell word that the Muggle children use in
> making pretend magic is an echo of the most dangerous curse there is in
> the wizarding world. It could easily have leaked over; if you were with
> your brother in the forest, and disturbed an evil old hermit, and he
> cursed your brother dead, you'd probably remember (albeit in garbled form)
> the words he used. Such situations could easily have happened, as various
> evil wizards went on the rampage (or just got teed off for whatever
> reason). And thus would the garbled form, abracadabra, have entered the
> Muggle folklore.
>
> My theory. Thoughts?
> 
--Amanda

The word "Abracadabra" was derived from the Hebrew phrase "abreq ad habra", 
which means "hurl your thunderbolt even unto death". It's kind of a stretch, 
but it may not just be a coincidence that Harry's scar is in the shape of a 
thunderbolt (lightning bolt). Plus, the translation includes mention of 
"death". 

If you don't buy this theory, then I have another. "Avada" is phonetically 
similar to "evado", which is Latin for "to become". "Kedavra" is similar to 
"cadaver". Hence, Avada Kedavra (evado cadaver) could mean "to become a 
corpse".

Thoughts?

Ellie Rosenthal
http://www.geocities.com/cornishpixie7/harryp/