Open sesame


"Open sesame" is a magical phrase in the story of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" in Antoine Galland's version of One Thousand and One Nights. It opens the mouth of a cave in which forty thieves have hidden a treasure. The phrase derives from the plant sesame.

Documentation

The phrase first appears in Antoine Galland's Les Mille et une nuits as Sésame, ouvre-toi. In the story, Ali Baba overhears one of the 40 thieves saying "open sesame". His brother later cannot remember the phrase, and confuses it with the names of grains other than sesame, becoming trapped in the magic cave.
Galland's phrase has been variously translated from the French into English as "Sesame, open", "Open, sesame" and "Open, O sesame".

Classification

Open sesame has been classified by Stith Thompson as motif element D1552.2, "Mountain opens to magic formula".

Origin

seeds grow in a seed pod that splits open when it reaches maturity, and the phrase possibly alludes to unlocking of treasures, although it is not certain that the word "sesame" actually refers to the sesame plant or seed.
Other theories include: