<P> According to the Oxford English Dictionary the term originates from hax pax max Deus adimax, a pseudo-Latin phrase used as a magical formula by conjurors . </P> <P> Some believe it originates from 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 . This explanation goes back to speculations by the Anglican prelate John Tillotson, who wrote in 1694: </P> <P> In all probability those common juggling words of hocus pocus are nothing else but a corruption of hoc est corpus, by way of ridiculous imitation of the priests of the Church of Rome in their trick of Transubstantiation . </P> <P> This claim is substantiated 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 . 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 . </P>

Where does the term hocus pocus come from