C

n. Tradition; occult, doctrine. See Cabala. A secret. A small political faction. A number of persons united in some close design, usually to promote their private views and interests in church or state by intrigue; a secret association composed of a few designing persons; a junto. It so happened, by a whimsical coincidence, that in 1671 the cabinet consisted of five persons, the initial letters of whose names made up the word cabal; Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale. The secret artifices or machinations of a few persons united in a close design; intrigue.

Syn. - Junto; intrigue; plot; combination; conspiracy. ...