Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The theosophy or mystic philosophy of the Hebrew religion, which grew up mainly after the beginning of the tenth century, and flourished for many generations.
  • noun Any secret science; esoteric as distinguished from exoteric doctrine; occultism; mysticism.
  • noun Also spelled cabbala, kabbala.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A kind of occult theosophy or traditional interpretation of the Scriptures among Jewish rabbis and certain mediæval Christians, which treats of the nature of god and the mystery of human existence. It assumes that every letter, word, number, and accent of Scripture contains a hidden sense; and it teaches the methods of interpretation for ascertaining these occult meanings. The cabalists pretend even to foretell events by this means.
  • noun Secret science in general; mystic art; mystery.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun Alternative spelling of Kaballah.
  • proper noun Alternative spelling of Kabballah.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an esoteric theosophy of rabbinical origin based on the Hebrew scriptures and developed between the 7th and 18th centuries
  • noun an esoteric or occult matter resembling the Kabbalah that is traditionally secret

Etymologies

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Examples

  • In the case of Madonna, who was born Roman Catholic, her fascination with Jewish images flows mostly out of her attraction to something that she calls cabala but that many dismiss as a distillation of New Age notions about the genuine cabala.

    A Jewish Madonna? Is That a Mystery? 2004

  • She can state her position on it if she wishes to or not state it and encourage the suspicion that there is come kind of cabala going with the telecom.

    Obama Camp Says It: He'll Support Filibuster Of Any Bill Containing Telecom Immunity 2009

  • Jewish 'cabala' or idea of the Messiah by the spiritualists before the

    The Literary Remains of Samuel Taylor Coleridge Henry Nelson Coleridge 1820

  • For though the Jews have such a cabala (called gematry) as this which Mr. White describes; yet that cabala which is argued in this instance, and which our Saviour reproves in the pharisees by the name of tradition, is quite another thing, and among the Jewish writers known by the name of the "unwritten, or oral law;" which they say was delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai, and by him conveyed to Aaron and Joshua, and the elders, and successively delivered down from one age to another; and at last by Rabbi Jehudah compiled into one volume which they call Mishna, or deute'rosis.

    The Works of Dr. John Tillotson, Late Archbishop of Canterbury. Vol. 10. 1630-1694 1820

  • 'cabala' of Paul on the other: while at the same time it weakens the more important half of the objection to, or doubt concerning, the authenticity of St. Peter's Epistles.

    The Literary Remains of Samuel Taylor Coleridge Henry Nelson Coleridge 1820

  • The little we have learned is called hermetic knowledge, and the spells that summon forth their true appearance is called the cabala by some.

    Archive 2009-01-01 Young Geoffrion 2009

  • The little we have learned is called hermetic knowledge, and the spells that summon forth their true appearance is called the cabala by some.

    Iconologia Young Geoffrion 2009

  • Different explanations for this have been proposed; Orson Scott Card suggested it has something to do with the state of science, where the greatest discoveries now have to do with such cabala as superstrings and subatomic particles, which in his view don't make for the greatest stories (though authors of the forms of sf mentioned above might disagree).

    Archive 2007-07-01 2007

  • And if this secret pattern, this cabala, were deciphered, it would tell you how to construct a new society, one that was based on justice, equality and freedom.

    All Aboard Historical Thriller 'Finland Station' 2009

  • The whole Clinton cabala with the Repubs is a figment of far left imagination.

    In New Hampshire, Hillary Pulls Away From Obama 2009

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