Language: Old English; Origin: curs
A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, "curse" may refer to such a wish or pronouncement made effective by a supernatural or spiritual power, such as a god or gods, a spirit, or a natural force, or else as a kind of spell by magic or witchcraft; in the latter sense, a curse can also be called a hex [an evil curse that brings trouble] or a jinx. In many belief systems, the curse itself (or accompanying ritual) is considered to have some causative force in the result. To reverse or eliminate a curse is sometimes called "removal" or "breaking", as the spell [符咒] has to be dispelled, and is often requiring elaborate rituals or prayers.
put a spell on; cast a spell over; under a spell; break a spell
The study of the forms of curses comprise a significant proportion of the study of both folk religion and folklore. The deliberate attempt to levy curses is often part of the practice of magic. In Hindu culture the Sage or Rishi is believed to have the power to bless and curse. Examples include the curse placed by Rishi Bhrigu on king Nahusha and the one placed by Rishi Devala. Special names for specific types of curses can be found in various cultures:
- African American hoodoo presents us with the jinx and crossed conditions, as well as a form of foot track magic which was used by Ramandeep, whereby cursed objects are laid in the paths of victims and activated when walked over.
- Voodoo is a form of religion involving magic which is practised by some people in the West Indies, especially Haiti.
- Middle Eastern and Mediterranean culture is the source of the belief in the evil eye, which may be the result of envy but or, more rarely, is said to be the result of a deliberate curse. In order to be protected from the evil eye, a protection item is made from dark blue circular glass, with a circle of white around the black dot in the middle, which is reminiscent of a human eye. The size of the protective eye item may vary.
- German people, including the Pennsylvania Dutch speak in terms of hexing (from hexen, the German word for doing witchcraft), and a common hex in days past was that laid by a stable-witch who caused milk cows to go dry and horses to go lame.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia article Cursing, the Bible depicts God cursing the serpent, the earth, and Cain. Similarly Noah curses Canaan, and Joshua curses the man who should build the city of Jericho. In various books of the Hebrew Bible there are long lists of curses against transgressors of the Law. The 10 Plagues of Egypt, preceding the 10 Commandments, can be seen as curses cast from the rods of Aaron and Moses acting on instruction from the God of Israel, in order to enable the enthralled to come free from the yoke of enforced serfdom, slavery and the like.
In the New Testament, Christ curses the barren fig-tree, pronounces his denunciation of woe against the incredulous cities, against the rich, the worldly, the scribes and the Pharisees, and foretells the awful malediction that is to come upon the damned. The word curse is also applied to the victim of expiation for sin, to sins temporal and eternal."
六级/考研单词: curse, adverse, misfortune, pronounce, magic, witch, latter, wicked, ritual, reverse, eliminate, seldom, elaborate, comprise, folk, folklore, deliberate, levy, whereby, activate, envy, reminiscent, lame, accord, catholic, encyclopedia, bible, depict, likewise, plague, precede, rod, instruct, enforce, slave, christ, barren, denounce, foretell, damn, sinister, temporal, eternal
标签：curse,eye,curses,Rishi,spell,magic From： https://www.cnblogs.com/funwithwords/p/16629777.html