cabala

or cab·ba·la, kab·a·la, kab·ba·la, kab·ba·lah

[kab-uh-luh, kuh-bah-]

See more synonyms for cabala on Thesaurus.com

noun

a system of esoteric theosophy and theurgy developed by rabbis, reaching its peak about the 12th and 13th centuries, and influencing certain medieval and Renaissance Christian thinkers. It was based on a mystical method of interpreting Scripture by which initiates claimed to penetrate sacred mysteries. Among its central doctrines are, all creation is an emanation from the Deity and the soul exists from eternity.
any occult or secret doctrine or science.

Origin of cabala

1515–25; < Medieval Latin cab(b)ala < Hebrew qabbālāh ‘tradition’, literally, something received, i.e., handed down

Can be confusedcabal cabala

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for cabala

pietism, spiritualism, cabalism, cabala, quietism, kabala, cabbalism, ontologism, orphism

Examples from the Web for cabala

Historical Examples of cabala

But if you were to teach me the cabala, you would impart to me these holy names?
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete
Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
The Cabala teaches us the infinite significance of words and names.
The Magic of the Middle Ages
Viktor Rydberg
Astrology as well as the Cabala gives various methods for this purpose.
The Magic of the Middle Ages
Viktor Rydberg
The Cabala, as we have seen, was made up of these heterogeneous elements.
Secret Societies And Subversive Movements
Nesta H. Webster
This may be so, yet imperceptibly the Cabala has moulded the mind of the Jew.
Secret Societies And Subversive Movements
Nesta H. Webster

British Dictionary definitions for cabala

cabala

noun

a variant spelling of kabbalah

Derived Formscabalism (ˈkæbəˌlɪzəm), nouncabalist, nouncabalistic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cabala

1670s, variant of cabbala. Related: Cabalist.