hocus-pocus
English · Français · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
hocus-pocus
- /ˌhəʊkəs ˈpəʊkəs/ UK
- /ˌhoʊkəs ˈpoʊkəs/ US
- /-kɪs/ US
Rhymes with -əʊkəs
Where it comes from
Pseudo-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.
The verb is derived from the noun.
interjection hocus pocus
-
A phrase used (by a stage magician, etc.) as a magical incantation to bring about some change: abracadabra, hey presto.
Similar: alakazam, shazam, abracadabra, hey pass, hey presto, hocus-pocus, kazaam, presto, presto chango, shablam
noun hocus-pocuses · hocus-pocusses · hoci-poci · hocus and pocus · hocuspocus · hocus pocus
- Some ineffectual action or speech, especially if intended to divert attention; nonsense.
- Religious or supernatural phenomena one holds to be nonsense or mere trickery; superstitious mumbo-jumbo. How was it possible that I, a rational man, not unacquainted with the leading scientific facts of our history, and hitherto an absolute and utter disbeliever in all the hocus-pocus which in Europe goes by the name of the supernatural, could believe that I had within the last few minutes been engaged
-
Some action carried out to bring about change as if by magic; a trick; sleight of hand, trickery.
Similar: legerdemain, prestigiation, sleight of hand, conjuration, conjuring, dweomercraft, hocus-pocus, illusionism, jugglery, magic, palmistry, prestidigitation
- A conjurer.
- A conjurer's trick.
verb hocus-pocuses · hocus-pocusses · hocuses-pocuses · hocusses-pocusses · hocus-pocusing · hocus-pocussing
- To play tricks or practise sleight of hand (on someone); (by extension) to cheat, to deceive. [T]hat which we call Good Humour, is in Truth but a ſort of Slight of Hand in Diſcourſe, or a Faculty of making Truths look like Appearances, or Appearances like Truths. Now this Gift of Hocus Pocuſing, and of Diſguiſing Matters, is ſo Surpriſing and Agreeable on the one hand, that it muſt of Neceſſ
Translations
Every language
intj phrase used as a magical incantation
| Español | abracadabra |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ちちんぷいぷい chichin-puipui |
| Português | abracadabra |
| Français | hocus-pocus, abracadabra |
| Deutsch | Hokuspokus, Abrakadabra, Simsalabim |
| Italiano | abracadabra |
| Русский | фо́кус-по́кус fókus-pókus, ахала́й-махала́й axaláj-maxaláj, си́м-салаби́м sím-salabím |
noun some (ineffectual) action carried out to bring about change as if by magic — see also nonsense, trick, trickery
| Français | abracadabra |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Hokuspokus |
| Русский | фо́кус fókus, фо́кус-по́кус fókus-pókus |
Talk about this word "hocus-pocus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hocus-pocus. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hocus-pocus. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hocus-pocus "hocus-pocus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hocus-pocus.Cite this
@misc{hocus_pocus_2026,
title = {hocus-pocus},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hocus-pocus},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
