The evil eye is a look that is believed by many cultures to be able to cause injury or bad luck for the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or dislike. The term also refers to the power attributed to certain persons of inflicting injury or bad luck by such an envious or ill-wishing look. The evil eye is usually given to others who remain unaware.
The "evil eye" is also known in Arabic as ʿayn al-ḥasūd (عين الحسود), in Hebrew as ʿayn ha-rʿa (עין הרע), in Turkish as Nazar, in Greek as "το μάτι," in Spanish as mal de ojo., in Italian as malocchio and in Hawaiian culture it is known as "stink eye."
The idea expressed by the term causes many cultures to pursue protective measures against it. The concept and its significance vary widely among different cultures, primarily the Middle East. The idea appears several times in translations of the Old Testament. It was a widely extended belief among many Mediterranean and Asian tribes and cultures. Charms and decorations featuring the eye are a common sight across Greece and Turkey and have become a popular choice of souvenir with tourists.
Read more about Evil Eye: Forms of Belief, History, Around The World, Protective Talismans and Cures, Names in Various Languages
Famous quotes containing the words evil and/or eye:
“Now the spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.”
—Bible: Hebrew, 1 Samuel 16:14.
“The difference between human vision and the image perceived by the faceted eye of an insect may be compared with the difference between a half-tone block made with the very finest screen and the corresponding picture as represented by the very coarse screening used in common newspaper pictorial reproduction. The same comparison holds good between the way Gogol saw things and the way average readers and average writers see things.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)