If you read a series of books and or watched movies about Harry Potter, you probably heard about such a spell as Avada Kedavra. But did you know what this spell is and how it differs from others? What is his translation? Not? Then we will tell you more about him, and also recall some other magic words that have much in common with this spell.
General information
Let's start with general information about this spell. It is unforgivable and is officially banned by the Ministry of Magic. Its use instantly kills a person. There is not a single counterspell on him, so his action is irreversible. The only survivor after its use is Harry Potter. Avada Kedavra is repeatedly mentioned in the book, which makes this spell one of the most famous.
It is worth noting that the wizard who used it will instantly be sent to Azkaban until the end of his days. Therefore, few decide to apply it. The exception is Lord Voldemort and his henchmen, who prefer to kill their enemies with this particular spell.
Meaning and Translation
There is no consensus on the meaning and translation of this spell. Many Harry Potter fans are finding their own answer to this question.
For the sake of interest, we tried to use dictionaries of the Latin language, looking for the phrase "Avada Kedavra" in them. The translation of this phrase, as well as individual words, was not found. Then we decided to look for the answer to our question in Rowling fan clubs.
We found two versions that can be considered quite truthful and worthy of attention. Some sources claim that from the Aramaic language this phrase translates as "I kill with the word." As an option, there is also a translation of "I kill with my own word."
It is also believed that the text of this spell and its name was coined by Joan Rowling by analogy with the famous phrase "Abracadabra". But there is no confirmation of this theory.
In our opinion, both versions have a place to be. As for Rowling, we did not find information on how exactly it translates this spell and what its etymology really is.
Book Mentions
So, you and I tried to make out the etymology of the Avad Kedavra spell, what this means, we found out. Now let's remember when this expression was mentioned in the book about Harry Potter itself.
The author begins to introduce us to the death spell in the first part, telling the story of the death of Harry's parents. But the writer does not mention the magic words themselves, nor their actions.
We learn about the spell in the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Professor Moody talks about him in a lesson on protection from the dark arts. It is in this part that we learn not only that Avad Kedavra is one of the three unforgivable spells, but also get acquainted with how it works.
Further, this expression is found in the fifth, sixth and seventh books.
Not only Harry's parents, but also his godfather Sirius Black, the director of Hogwarts, the owl Bukl and many other characters of the book die from the spell.
Harry Potter himself was twice exposed to it, but both times he was able to deceive death.
Other unforgivable spells
There are only three dark unforgivable spells in the Potterian world, the use of which threatens life imprisonment in Azkaban. We have already examined one of them - Avada Kedavra, let's now briefly discuss the other two.
The first is "Cruciatus" ("Cruzio"), which is translated from Latin as "torment". The use of this spell causes terrible and unbearable pain to a person. It was used in the book by both negative (Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange) and positive (Harry Potter) heroes.
The second is “Imperius” (“Imperio”), translated from Latin as “command”, “order”. This spell suppresses the will and subjugates the person. Under his influence, the victim fulfills all the orders that the wizard who imposed him gives.
The third, as we have said, is Avada Kedavra.
All three spells have several things in common. First of all, as already mentioned, they are all unforgivable. Secondly, they were one of Voldemort's favorite spells and all who served him. In addition, it is with them that the most high-profile and terrible crimes are described in the series of novels about Harry Potter.