noun
superstition
soo-per-STISH-un/ˌsuːpərˈstɪʃn/
A belief or practice based on unfounded ideas about luck or supernatural forces.
Throwing salt over the shoulder reflects a superstition.
Etymology
Latin superstitio already connected supernatural belief with excessive fear or ignorance, anticipating the modern irrational-belief sense. How its literal ancestry, “standing over,” acquired that religious meaning remains disputed.
In context
don't stand on one foot because you know it's bad luck that's a superstition that we have in my family
More examples
- Several superstitions survived.
- She dismissed the superstition.
- He studied local superstition.
Forms
superstition · superstitions
superstitious adjective — influenced by beliefs about luck
Similar words
- folk belief
- A traditional belief not necessarily about luck or causation.
- ritual
- A repeated practice that need not rest on superstition.