HOCUS

hocus, a shortened form of "hocus pocus," used in the 17th century in the sense of "to play a trick on any one," to "hoax," which is generally taken to be a derivative. "hocus pocus" appears to have been a mock latin expression first used as the name of a juggler or conjurer. thus in ady's _candle in the dark_ (1655), quoted in the _new english dictionary_, "i will speak of one man ... that went about in king james his time ... who called himself, the kings majesties most excellent hocus pocus, and so was called, because that at the playing of every trick, he used to say, _hocus pocus, tontus talontus, vade celeriter jubeo_, a dark composure of words, to blinde the eyes of the beholders, to make his trick pass the more currantly without discovery." tillotson's guess (_sermons_, xxvi.) that the phrase was a corruption of _hoc est corpus_ and alluded to the words of the eucharist, "in ridiculous imitation of the priests of the church of rome in their trick of transubstantiation," has frequently been accepted as a serious derivation, but has no foundation. a connexion with a supposed demon of scandinavian mythology, called "ochus bochus," is equally unwarranted. "hocus" is used as a verb, meaning to drug, stupefy with opium, &c., for a criminal purpose. this use dates from the beginning of the 19th century. hodden (a word of unknown origin), a coarse kind of cloth made of undyed wool, formerly much worn by the peasantry of scotland. it was usually made on small hand-looms by the peasants themselves. grey hodden was made by mixing black and white fleeces together in the proportion of one to twelve when weaving.