cabal [E16th] Historically, cabal—a word that had recently come into use for a secret meeting or plot—was a committee of five ministers under Charles II of England (1630–85), whose surnames began with C, A, B, A, and L (Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley (Earl of Shaftesbury), and Lauderdale). However, the first recorded use of cabal (from French cabale) was in reference to the Cabbala, the ancient Jewish tradition of mystical interpretation of the Bible. Medieval Latin cabala is the source of several variants of Cabbala, including Kabbalah (the preferred modern spelling), Kabbala, Cabala, and Qabalah, based on a rabbinical Hebrew word for ‘tradition’.