a small group of intriguers, esp one formed for political purposes
a secret plot, esp a political one; conspiracy; intrigue
a secret or exclusive set of people; clique
See conspiracy.
First recorded in 1610–20, for an earlier sense; earlier cabbal, from Medieval Latin cabbala; see kabbalah
A cabal is a secret plot, or a small group of people who create such a plot. Some conspiracy theories are based on the idea that governments worldwide are in the hands of a powerful cabal. Cabal comes from the word cabbala (also spelled kabbala), which refers to a Jewish tradition of interpreting texts. Cabbala is often regarded as a secret and mystical practice and, as such, the word took on the additional meaning of “secret behavior.” Cabal comes from this sense of the word. A well-known cabal in 17th-century England was coincidentally made up of five members whose names’ initial letters spelled the word cabal. (Their names were Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale.)
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THE "CABAL" MINISTRY.—A cabinet, as we now term it,—a small number of persons,—had, before this reign, begun to exercise the functions which belonged of old to the King's Council.
From Outline of Universal History by Fisher, George Park
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
