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Notarikon (Hebrew: נוֹטָרִיקוֹן Nōṭārīqōn) is a Talmudic and Kabbalistic method of deriving a word, by using each of its initial (Hebrew: ראשי תיבות) or final letters (סופי תיבות) to stand for another, to form a sentence or idea out of the words. Another variation uses the first and last letters, or the two middle letters of a word, in order to form another word.[1] The word "notarikon" is borrowed from the Greek language (νοταρικόν), and was derived from the Latin word "notarius" meaning "shorthand writer."[2]
Notarikon is one of the three ancient methods used by the Kabbalists (the other two are gematria and temurah) to rearrange words and sentences. These methods were used in order to derive the esoteric substratum and deeper spiritual meaning of the words in the Bible. Notarikon was also used in alchemy.
The term is mostly used in the context of Kabbalah. Common Hebrew abbreviations are described by ordinary linguistic terms.
- ^ "Notarikon". Archived from the original on 2011-07-17.
- ^ The Dictionary of Jewish usage: a guide to the use of Jewish terms, By Sol Steinmetz, ISBN 0-7425-4387-0, 2005, [article "Notarikon"]