ˈkəlt noun
( -s )
Etymology: French & Latin; French culte, from Latin cultus care, cultivation, culture, adoration, from cultus, past participle of colere to till, cultivate, dwell, inhabit, worship — more at wheel
1. : religious practice : worship
2. : a system of beliefs and ritual connected with the worship of a deity, a spirit, or a group of deities or spirits
the cult of Apollo
the earth cult
3.
a. : the rites, ceremonies, and practices of a religion : the formal aspect of religious experience
dissent occurs in all three fields of expression of religious experience, in doctrine, in cult , and organization — Joachim Wach
b. Roman Catholicism : reverence and ceremonial veneration paid to God or to the Virgin Mary or to the saints or to objects that symbolize or otherwise represent them (as the crucifix or a statue) — called also cultus ; compare dulia , hyperdulia , latria
4. : a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious
the exuberant growth of fantastic cults
also : a minority religious group holding beliefs regarded as unorthodox or spurious : sect
provided a haven for persecuted cults
5. : a system for the cure of disease based on the dogma, tenets, or principles set forth by its promulgator to the exclusion of scientific experience or demonstration
6.
a. : great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea, or thing
the cult of success
especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad or fetish
the cult of art-for-art's sake
b. : the object of such devotion
square dancing has developed into something of a cult — R.L.Taylor
c.
(1) : a body of persons characterized by such devotion
America's growing cult of home fixer uppers — Wall Street Journal
(2) : a usually small or narrow circle of persons united by devotion or allegiance to some artistic or intellectual program, tendency, or figure (as one of limited popular appeal)
the exclusive cult of those that profess to admire his esoteric verse
Synonyms: see religion