hocus-pocus
To play tricks or practise sleight of handTo play tricks or practise sleight of hand (on someone); (by extension) to cheat, to deceive.
Meaning
1 senses(colloquial, dated)To play tricks or practise sleight of hand (on someone); (by extension) to cheat, to deceive.
Translations
1 languagesOrigin
Pseudo-Latinism. The interjection and noun are derived from pseudo-Latin magical incantatiPseudo-Latinism. The interjection and noun are derived from pseudo-Latin magical incantations used by conjurers (formerly called “jugglers”) such as “hocus pocus, tontus talontus, vade celeriter jubeo” (by a particular 17th-century conjurer who allegedly adopted the moniker Hocus Pocus) and “hax pax max Deus adimax”. The suggestion that the term is a corruption of words from the Roman Catholic liturgy of the Eucharist, “hoc est enim corpus meum” (“this is my [i.e., Jesus’s] body”), was made in a sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Tillotson (1630–1694), but is not generally accepted.
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Forms
hocus-pocuses, hocus-pocusing, hocus-pocused, hocus-pocused| Base form | hocus-pocus · to hocus-pocus |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | hocus-pocuses |
| Present participle | hocus-pocusing |
| Past simple | hocus-pocused / hocus-pocussed / hocused-pocused / hocussed-pocussed |
| Past participle | hocus-pocused / hocus-pocussed / hocused-pocused / hocussed-pocussed |
regular
Word family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle