acrostic

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acrostic

acrostic , arrangement of words or lines in which a series of initial, final, or other corresponding letters, when taken together, stand in a set order to form a word, a phrase, the alphabet, or the like. A famous acrostic was made on the Greek for Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior: I esous Ch ristos, Th eou U ios, S oter ( ch and th being each one letter in Greek). The initials spell ichthus, Greek for fish; hence the frequent use of the fish by early Christians as a symbol for Jesus. There are several alphabetic acrostics (pertaining to the Hebrew alphabet) in the Bible, e.g., in Ps. 119 and Lamentations . Acrostic verses are common, and very elaborate puzzles have been devised combining several schemes.

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acrostic

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Â© The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology 1996, originally published by Oxford University Press 1996. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

acrostic XVI. — L. acrostichis — Gr. akrostikhís, f. ákros endmost, ACRO- + stíkhos row, line of verse. The etym. sp. acrostich has been superseded through assoc. with -IC. Cf. F. acrostiche.

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T. F. HOAD. "acrostic." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "acrostic." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (November 26, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-acrostic.html

T. F. HOAD. "acrostic." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved November 26, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-acrostic.html

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