Gematria
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A cabalistic method of interpreting Hebrew words, based on numerical values of letters. countable, uncountable
"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 by various Custodians over the centuries, and since the Last, possess’d by Jesuit and Freemason alike."
Example
More examples"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 by various Custodians over the centuries, and since the Last, possess’d by Jesuit and Freemason alike."
Etymology
From Aramaic [Term?], from Ancient Greek γεωμετρία (geōmetría, “geometry”). Doublet of geometry.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.