From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Cabala \Cab"a*la\ (k[a^]b"[.a]*l[.a]), n. [LL. See {Cabal}, n.]
1. A kind of occult theosophy or traditional interpretation
of the Scriptures among Jewish rabbis and certain
medi[ae]val Christians, which treats of the nature of god
and the mystery of human existence. It assumes that every
letter, word, number, and accent of Scripture contains a
hidden sense; and it teaches the methods of interpretation
for ascertaining these occult meanings. The cabalists
pretend even to foretell events by this means.
[1913 Webster]
2. Secret science in general; mystic art; mystery.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
cabala
n 1: an esoteric or occult matter resembling the Kabbalah that
is traditionally secret [syn: {cabala}, {cabbala},
{cabbalah}, {kabala}, {kabbala}, {kabbalah}, {qabala},
{qabalah}]
2: an esoteric theosophy of rabbinical origin based on the
Hebrew scriptures and developed between the 7th and 18th
centuries [syn: {Kabbalah}, {Kabbala}, {Kabala}, {Cabbalah},
{Cabbala}, {Cabala}, {Qabbalah}, {Qabbala}]
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