🇵🇹Portuguese Source WordCode: PT

hocus

Pronunciation / Transliteration: hocus

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Hocus/ˈhoʊ.kəs/
nounCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #15000 frequency
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🇵🇹 Example Sentence in Portuguese:

"O mágico usou muito hocus em seu show."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A term used to describe a trick or deception, especially in the context of magic or illusion.

    "The magician's act was filled with hocus that left the audience in awe."
  2. 2

    A nonsensical phrase or jargon used to confuse or mislead.

    "The politician's speech was full of hocus, making it hard to understand his true intentions."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The term 'hocus' likely derives from the phrase 'hocus pocus', which is believed to have originated in the early 17th century. It is thought to be a corruption of the Latin phrase 'hoc est corpus meum' ('this is my body'), used in the Catholic Mass, and was adopted by magicians to signify trickery and deception.

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