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open sesame . In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
open sesame , but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
open sesame in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
open sesame you have here. The definition of the word
open sesame will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
open sesame , as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From its use in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves , translating French Sésame, ouvre-toi in Antoine Galland 's version of the Ali Baba story in the One Thousand and One Nights , possibly based on an oral Arabic source.
Not, as some have purported, a corruption of Open, says me! .
Pronunciation
Audio (Southern England) (file )
Phrase
open sesame
open up ( especially referring to doors )
Translations
open up
Arabic: اِفْتَح يَا سِمْسِم ( iftaḥ yā simsim )
Azerbaijani: simsim, açıl
Catalan: obre't sèsam
Chinese:
Cantonese: 芝麻開門 / 芝麻开门 ( zi1 maa4 hoi1 mun4 )
Mandarin: 芝麻開門 / 芝麻开门 ( zhīma kāimén )
Czech: sezame, otevři se
Danish: sesam, luk dig op
Estonian: seesam avane
Finnish: seesam aukene
French: Sésame, ouvre-toi (fr)
German: Sesam, öffne dich
Hungarian: szezám, tárulj
Italian: apriti sesamo
Japanese: 開け胡麻 , 開けゴマ ( ひらけごま, hirake goma )
Macedonian: отво́ри се, се́заме ( otvóri se, sézame )
Persian: سسمی باز شو ( sesemi bâz šov )
Polish: Sezamie, otwórz się m
Portuguese: abre-te sésamo
Russian: сеза́м, откро́йся ( sezám, otkrójsja ) , симси́м, откро́йся ( simsím, otkrójsja )
Spanish: ábrete sésamo
Swedish: sesam, öppna dig!
Turkish: açıl susam , açıl susam açıl
Noun
open sesame (plural open sesames )
Any successful means of achieving a result , especially means that are magical or technical , or otherwise beyond the understanding of most people.
1899 , William Wallace Cook, “Aquastor”, in Overland Monthly , page 15 :"The blue topaz was bought by me, from the chieftain of the tribe to which Quacal belongs. It is an ‘open sesame ’ to his favor."
1905 , John Ruskin, The Works of John Ruskin , page lv:He who can read a true book aright has an open sesame to audiences with the great and wise of all time.
1963 , William J. Palmer, Trial Tactics in California , page 57 :Relevancy not always an open sesame having in mind the over-all authority and discretion of the trial judge.
2001 September 24, Gareth McLean, “Sympathy for a devil”, in The Guardian :When Mussolini was a young chap, he dabbled with socialism, imagining it to be an open sesame to a better society.
Translations
successful means of achieving a result