gematria

gematria

English

Etymology

Aramaic, from Ancient Greek γεωμετρία (geōmetría, “geometry”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɪˈmeɪ.tɹi.ə/, /ɡɪˈmɑ.tɹi.ə/

Noun

gematria (countable and uncountable, plural gematrias or gematriot)

1. A cabalistic method of interpreting Hebrew words, based on numerical values of letters.
   • 1997, Thomas Pynchon, Mason & Dixon:

     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.

   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, p. 897:

     each letter in this alphabet also has its own numerical value, what was known among ancient Jewish students of the Torah as ‘gematria’.

Derived terms

• gematric

Anagrams

• Armitage, maritage