gematria

[ guh-mey-tree-uh ]

noun

1. a cabbalistic system of interpretation of the Scriptures by substituting for a particular word another word whose letters give the same numerical sum.

Word History and Origins

Origin of gematria¹

1685–95; < Hebrew gēmaṭriyā < Greek geōmetría geometry

Example Sentences

Gematria, for example, was the practice of adding up the numbers of the letters in Hebrew words to find a value and using this number as the inspiration for divinations.

From Literature

The Negative48 spinoff focuses on deciphering meaning using a takeoff of gematria, an ancient Hebrew tradition of assigning numeric values to letters.

From Washington Post

Elsewhere at the rally, Eileen McDermott said she’d only started to explore gematria, but she believed there were coded messages in Trump’s speeches, executive orders and musical selections.

From Washington Post

“We learned gematria from Michael in Dallas,” said Melissa Cole, who was at the rally in Wilmington with two 13-year-olds and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in a stroller.

From Washington Post

One centerpiece of kabbalistic thought is gematria—the search for coded messages within the text of the Bible.

From Literature