Hocus pocus (magic) derived from the Protoslavic word "kusiti", which is itself derived from Gothic "kausajn" meaning "to try", "to attempt". This may indicate that the wording belongs to the alchemy kitchen and court of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (1552 – 1612). Also, "hocus" may mean "to cheat" in Latin or a distorted form of the word "hoc", "this". Combination of the two words may give a sense, especially both meanings together "this attempt/experiment" and "cheated attempt/experiment". 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.
Pax (liturgical object) ("Peace to you", "And with your spirit"). The pax gradually fell out of general use, though the Catholic Encyclopedia in 1911 said it was still practised when "prelates and princes" were involved, but "not to others except in rare cases established by custom". In the 20th century the physical kiss, now more often a handshake, was revived in the Mass. Pax was the Latin name, with osculatorium and "instrumentum pacis" as alternatives. Pax was also used in English, in which they were also called a pax board and pax-brede, or "paxbrede". Another Latin term was pacificale, still sometimes used in