triskaidekaphobia

alternative treiskaidekaphobia · alternative triskaidecaphobia

1. uncountableFear or dislike of the number thirteen (13).

   There’s even a name to describe the irrational dread of the date: paraskevidekatriaphobia — a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, a fear of the number 13.

   2021 August 12, Christobel Hastings, “Why is Friday the 13th unlucky? The cultural origins of an enduring superstition”, in CNN

   2 more examples

   Yet, despite beliefs that triskaidekaphobia began long ago and has been passed down through the centuries, the earliest known reference to Friday the 13th as a dreaded day did not appear until 1913. It is merely a 20th century invention.

   2017 October 12, Albert Garcia, “What is the word for fear of the number 13? Triskaidekaphobia”, in Calliope Magazine, page 3

   The great Austrian-American composer Arnold Schoenberg had such a severe case of triskaidekaphobia (the fear of the number 13), he omitted numbering the 13th measure in some of his later works, substituting it with the notation “12a.”

   2019 December 13, Marika Gerken, “Friday the 13th: How it came to be and why it’s considered unlucky”, in CNN