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superstition

UK/ˌs(j)uː.pə(ɹ)ˈstɪ.ʃən/US/ˌs(j)u.pɚˈstɪ.ʃən/
nounB2+Common in everyday speech and writing · #5,928 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: superstitions

A superstition is a belief that some act brings luck or misfortune. An old superstition, superstition about ladders, pure superstition.

Calling a belief one is always a judgement from outside — nobody describes their own practices that way. Skinner produced superstitious behaviour in pigeons by feeding them at random, which suggests it comes from the mind's habit of finding patterns. The Latin means standing over.

Joseph E., ca. 1837-1914, artist. · Public domain

Definitions of superstition

  1. 1nounsuperstitionA belief that some act brings luck or misfortune.B2+

    “According to an old superstition, walking under a ladder brings bad luck.”

superstition is a belief.

Where it comes from

Latin superstitio comes from superstare, to stand over. The connection of sense is disputed.

  1. Latin

    superstitio — superstition

  2. Middle French

    superstition

  3. English, today

    superstition

Built from

  • superstō · Latin — to stand above, to stand upon, to survive
  • -tiō · Latin — -tion: forming nouns
  • super- · Latin — above, over, upon
  • sto · Latin — to stand

From Middle French superstition, from Latin superstitio (“superstition”), from superstō (“to stand above, to stand upon, to survive”) +‎ -tiō (“-tion: forming nouns”), from super- (“above, over, upon”) + sto (“to stand”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Belief & Ritual

Practise this word

superstition in the wild

  • A jinx (also jynx), in popular superstition and folklore, is a curse or the attribute of attracting bad or negative luck.

    Jinx

  • Variations of the superstition may also forbid quoting lines from the play within a theatre except as part of an actual rehearsal or performance of the play.

    The Scottish Play

  • Because of this superstition, the title character is often referred to as the Scottish King or Scottish Lord.

    The Scottish Play

  • Black cats are the subject of mythology, legend, and superstition.

    Black cat

  • Baseball is a sport with a long history of superstition.

    Baseball superstition

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.