CABAL
What does "CABAL" mean?
A small group of people plotting secretly, especially in politics.
Meanings
- A secret clique or faction engaged in intrigue or conspiracy. A cabal of advisers ran the country while the king hunted.
- The secret schemes or intrigues of such a group. The whole affair reeked of palace cabal. formal
Did you know?
- By coincidence the initials of five of Charles II's ministers - Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, Lauderdale - spelled CABAL, cementing the word's link to secret plotting after they backed the covert 1670 Treaty of Dover.
Word origin
From French 'cabale', from Medieval Latin 'cabbala', from Hebrew 'qabbalah' (tradition, received doctrine, the Jewish mystical tradition); the sense of 'secret intrigue' developed in the 1600s.
Remember it
CABAL: Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, Lauderdale - five plotters whose initials spell the word.
A little poem
Five men, one candle, the door drawn to-
they speak in the tense the king won't hear,
and history learns their names too late.
tercet
What it teaches
Power rarely whispers in a crowd; the rooms that decide are always the smallest ones.
Quick facts
What does CABAL mean?
A small group of people plotting secretly, especially in politics.
Is CABAL a valid word?
Yes — CABAL is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is CABAL?
CABAL has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does CABAL come from?
From French 'cabale', from Medieval Latin 'cabbala', from Hebrew 'qabbalah' (tradition, received doctrine, the Jewish mystical tradition); the sense of 'secret intrigue' developed in the 1600s.
What can CABAL teach us?
Power rarely whispers in a crowd; the rooms that decide are always the smallest ones.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.