kabbalah

or cab·a·la

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

/ ˈkæb ə lə, kəˈbɑ- /

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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.

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Also cab·ba·la, kab·a·la, kab·ba·la .

Origin of kabbalah

First recorded in 1515–25; from Medieval Latin cabbala, from Hebrew qabbālāh “tradition,” literally, “something received,” i.e., “handed down”; see also cabal

Words nearby kabbalah

Kabalevsky, kabaragoya, Kabardian, Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Republic, Kabardino-Balkar Republic, kabbalah, kabbalism, kabbalist, kabbalistic, kabeljou, Kabila

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use kabbalah in a sentence

In his hands was The Zohar, the chief text of the Jewish Kabbalah.
When Harry Met Cancer|Itay Hod|April 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Neilson told Newsweek that "the separation is a healthy thing for Raising Malawi and the Kabbalah Centre."
Madonna's Malawi Denial|Wayne Barrett|April 12, 2011|DAILY BEAST
That goes a long way toward explaining the appeal of the Church of Scientology and the Kabbalah Centre.
Jim Carrey Almighty|Kim Masters|June 11, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The Kabbalah does not possess that integral connection with Masonry which is argued by Mgr.
Devil-Worship in France|Arthur Edward Waite

Eating little means sleeping little, and whole nights without sleep or food incline one to the Kabbalah!
Stories and Pictures|Isaac Loeb Peretz
Somebody was caught reading a Kabbalah-book, and the Rabbi had his beard shaven by Gentiles!
Stories and Pictures|Isaac Loeb Peretz
These hermeneutical canons are much older than the Kabbalah.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 6|Various
The Kabbalah is divided into two parts, viz, the symbolical and the real.
Hebraic Literature; Translations from the Talmud, Midrashim and Kabbala|Various

British Dictionary definitions for kabbalah

kabbalah

kabbala, kabala, cabbala, cabala or qabalah

/ (kəˈbɑːlə) /

noun

an ancient Jewish mystical tradition based on an esoteric interpretation of the Old Testament

any secret or occult doctrine or science

Derived forms of kabbalah

kabbalism, kabalism, cabbalism, cabalism or qabalism (ˈkæbəˌlɪzəm), nounkabbalist, kabalist, cabbalist, cabalist or qabalist, nounkabbalistic, kabalistic, cabbalistic, cabalistic or qabalistic, adjective

Word Origin for kabbalah

C16: from Medieval Latin, from Hebrew qabbālāh tradition, what is received, from qābal to receive

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