cult

cult
cultic, cultual /kul"chooh euhl/, adj.cultish, adj.
/kult/, n.
1. a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies.
2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.
3. the object of such devotion.
4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.
5. Sociol. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.
6. a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.
7. the members of such a religion or sect.
8. any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific.
adj.
9. of or pertaining to a cult.
10. of, for, or attracting a small group of devotees: a cult movie.
[1610-20; < L cultus habitation, tilling, refinement, worship, equiv. to cul-, var. s. of colere to inhabit, till, worship + -tus suffix of v. action]

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Collective veneration or worship (e.g., the cult of the saints
meaning collective veneration of the saints
in Roman Catholicism).

In the West, the term has come to be used for groups that are perceived to have deviated from normative religions in belief and practice. They typically have a charismatic leader and attract followers who are in some way disenfranchised from the mainstream of society. Cults as thus defined are often viewed as foreign or dangerous.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • cult — cult; cult·ish; cult·ism; cult·ist; dif·fi·cult·ly; dif·fi·cult·ness; in·cult; oc·cult·er; oc·cult·ism; oc·cult·ist; oc·cult·ness; pro·let·cult; mass·cult; mid·cult; dif·fi·cult; oc·cult; oc·cult·ly; …   English syllables

  • cult — 1. In the meaning ‘a particular form or system of religious worship’, especially with reference to ritual and ceremony, cult dates from the 17c. In the 19c, archaeologists applied the term to primitive practices which they did not think worthy of …   Modern English usage

  • CULT — (homonymie) Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Cult peut faire référence à : Culte, en anglais, Cult, une commune française de la Haute Saône, Cult, un album du groupe Apolyptica, une… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Cult — (k[u^]lt) n. [F. culte, L. cultus care, culture, fr. colere to cultivate. Cf. {Cultus}.] 1. Attentive care; homage; worship. [1913 Webster] Every one is convinced of the reality of a better self, and of the cult or homage which is due to it.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cult — Студийный альбом Apocalyptica …   Википедия

  • cult — s.m.inv. ES ingl. {{wmetafile0}} oggetto o prodotto intellettuale che gode di uno speciale riconoscimento, spec. in campo artistico o culturale: il film è già un cult per le nuove generazioni; anche agg.inv.: un libro cult, un automobile cult… …   Dizionario italiano

  • Cult — bezeichnet: Cult (Album), ein Studioalbum der Band Apocalyptica Cult (Haute Saône), eine Gemeinde in Frankreich CULT bezeichnet: Ausschuss für Kultur und Bildung, ein Ausschuss des Europäischen Parlaments Siehe auch: The Cult, eine englische… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cult — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Cult puede referirse a: Cult, comuna francesa de Alto Saona. Cult, álbum de Apocalyptica. Obtenido de Cult Categoría: Wikipedia:Desambiguación …   Wikipedia Español

  • cult — /kult, kalt, ingl. kʌlt/ [vc. ingl., propr. «culto»] A s. m. inv. 1. accorc. di cult book 2. accorc. di cult movie B agg. inv. di culto …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

  • cult — (n.) 1610s, worship, also a particular form of worship, from Fr. culte (17c.), from L. cultus care, labor; cultivation, culture; worship, reverence, originally tended, cultivated, pp. of colere to till (see COLONY (Cf. colony)). Rare after 17c.;… …   Etymology dictionary

  • cult — [n1] group sharing belief band, body, church, clan, clique, creed, denomination, faction, faith, following, party, persuasion, religion, school, sect; concepts 369,387 cult [n2] worship; form of ceremony admiration, ceremony, craze, creed, cultus …   New thesaurus

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