cult

Main Entry:: cult
Pronunciation:: \ˈkəlt\
Function:: noun
Usage:: often attributive
Etymology:: French & Latin; French culte, from Latin cultus care, adoration, from colere to cultivate — more at wheel
Date:: 1617

1: formal religious veneration : worship2: a system of religious beliefs and ritual ; also : its body of adherents3: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious ; also : its body of adherents4: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <health cults>5 a: great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book) ; especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b: the object of such devotion c: a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion

— cul·tic

\ˈkəl-tik\ adjective

— cult·ish

\-tish\ adjective

— cult·ish·ly

\-lē\ adverb

— cult·ish·ness

\-nəs\ noun

— cult·ism

\ˈkəl-ˌti-zəm\ noun

— cult·ist

\ˈkəl-tist\ noun

— cult·like

\-ˌlīk\ adjective

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