[cult] n, often attrib [F & L; F culte, fr. L cultus care, adoration, fr. colere to cultivate--more at wheel] (1617) 1: formal religious veneration: worship
2: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also: its body of adherents
3: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also: its body of adherents
4: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator "health ~s"
5. a: great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); esp: such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b: a usu. small group of people characterized by such devotion -- cul.tic adj -- cult.ish adj -- cult.ish.ly adv -- cult.ish.ness n -- cult.ism n -- cult.ist n -- cult.like adj