Hocus-pocus is a reference to the actions of magicians, often as the stereotypical magic words spoken when bringing about some sort of change. It was once a common term for a magician, juggler, or other similar entertainers. In extended usage, the term is often used (pejoratively) to describe irrational human activities that appear to depend on magic. Examples are given below.
The phrase could have originated from the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer) found in the Latin Mass when the priest performs the transubstantiation of the bread into the body of Christ by saying: "HOC EST ENIM CORPUS MEUM" (meaning - "This is my Body"), which could be misheard as hocus-pocus and associated with magic and changing one object into something else.
The earliest known English-language work on magic, or what was then known as legerdemain (sleight of hand), was published anonymously in 1635 under the title Hocus Pocus Junior: The Anatomie of Legerdemain.[1] Further research suggests that "Hocus Pocus" was the stage name of a well known magician of the era. This may be William Vincent, who is recorded as having been granted a license to perform magic in England in 1619.[2] Whether he was the author of the book is unknown.
The origins of the term remain obscure. The most popular conjecture is that it is a garbled Latin religious phrase or some form of 'dog' Latin. Some have associated it with similar-sounding fictional, mythical, or legendary names. Others suggest it is merely a combination of nonsense words.
One theory is that the term is a corruption of hax pax max Deus adimax, a pseudo-Latin phrase used in the early 17th century as a magical formula by conjurors.[3]
Another theory is that it is a corruption or parody of the Catholic liturgy of the Eucharist, which contains the phrase "Hoc est enim corpus meum", meaning This is my body.[4] This explanation goes at least as far back as a 1694 speculation by the Anglican prelate John Tillotson:
This theory is supported by the fact that in the Netherlands, the words Hocus pocus are usually accompanied by the additional words pilatus pas, and this is said to be based on a post-Reformation parody of the traditional Catholic rite of transubstantiation during Mass, being a Dutch corruption of the Latin words "Hoc est corpus meum" and the credo, which reads in part, "sub Pontio Pilato passus et sepultus est", meaning under Pontius Pilate he suffered and was buried.[5] In a similar way the phrase is in Scandinavia usually accompanied by filiokus, a corruption of the term filioque, from the Latin version of the Nicene Creed, meaning “and from the Son”. The variant spelling filipokus is common in Russia, a predominantly Eastern Orthodox nation, as well as certain other post-Soviet states. Additionally, the word for "stage trick" in Russian, fokus, is derived from hocus pocus.[6]
Others believe that it is an appeal to the folkloric Norse magician Ochus Bochus: According to Sharon Turner in The History of the Anglo-Saxons, they were believed to be derived from Ochus Bochus, a magician and demon of the north.[7]
As an alternative to other theories, it may simply be pseudo-Latin with no meaning, made up to impress people: