An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Hokuspokus

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Höker

An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, H
by Friedrich Kluge, translated by John Francis Davis

Hokuspokus

hold

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This annotated version expands the abbreviations in the original entry Hokuspokus.

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2632908An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, H — HokuspokusJohn Francis DavisFriedrich Kluge

Hokuspokus, masculine, ‘hocus-pocus,’ Modern High German only. It became current in England, where a book on conjuring, with the title ‘Hocus Pocus junior,’ appeared in 1634 A.D. The early history of this apparently fantastic and jocose expression is still obscure; its connection with the phrase used in the celebration of mass, ‘hoc enim est corpus meum,’ cannot be established.