illuminati
1599, pl. of L.
illuminatus "enlightened" (in figurative sense), pp. of
illuminare (see
illumination). Originally applied to a 16c. Spanish sect
(the Alumbrados), then to other sects; since 1797 used as a
translation of Ger. Illuminaten,
name of a secret society founded 1776 in Ingolstadt, Bavaria,
and holding deistic and republican principles; hence used
generally of free-thinkers and sarcastically of those professing
intellectual enlightenment (1816).
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |