cabal English · revision 2482

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kəˈbɑːl/, /kəˈbæl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|cabale|t=cabbala, intrigue, cabal]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) [[der|la-med|cabbala]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[der|he|קַבָּלָה|tr=qabbālāh|t=received lore, tradition]].^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Jewish tradition of interpreting the Old Testament, the cabbala (1616).^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Because the cabbala was esoteric, the word came to mean any secret tradition, then a secret intrigue (1646–1647), and then a small group of plotters (1660), probably following French usage.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989) In 1673 it was applied to five ministers of Charles II—Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley and Lauderdale—whose initials spell CABAL.^(Etymonline) Etymonline says this acronym popularized the word and gave it its sinister tone;^(Etymonline) the American Heritage Dictionary treats the acronym as a later false etymology, since the plotting sense was already established.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1616 – the cabbala (obsolete).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1646–1647 – a secret intrigue.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1660 – a small group engaged in secret intrigue.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1665 – the committee of Charles II's Privy Council.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1678–1680 – verb, to plot together.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A small group of people secretly plotting, for example against a government.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The schemes of such a group; a secret plot.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A clique, for example in artistic or literary circles.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To form a cabal; to conspire.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[caballer]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cabbala]]

+ * [[kabbalah]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}