TIL a new word: Camarilla

16 Apr, 2025

TIL a new word: camarilla - /kăm″ə-rĭl′ə, -rē′yə/ noun

1. A group of confidential, often scheming advisers; a cabal.
2. The private audience chamber of a king.
3. A company of secret and irresponsible advisers, as of a king; a cabal or clique.
4. A secret, usually sinister, group of conspiring advisors close to the leadership; a cabal.
5. A clique (often secret) that seeks power usually through intrigue.

(according to The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition)

I found it while reading about al-ʿĀḍid li-Dīn-Allāh, the last Fatimid caliph in Encyclopaedia of Islam online.