Cao Dai

[ kou dahy ]

noun

1. a syncretic religion, originating in Cochinchina (now part of South Vietnam) in 1926, combining Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucianist elements and affected to some extent by Christianity.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Cao Dai¹

First recorded in 1935–40; from Vietnamese cao đài, literally, “high tower,” from cao “high, tall, great” + đài “platform, tower,” both from Middle Chinese; compare Mandarin gāo, tái

Example Sentences

Twenty-seven people, including Christians from Burma, Vietnam, North Korea, Iran, Turkey, Cuba, Eritrea, Nigeria, and Sudan, Muslims from Afghanistan, Sudan, Pakistan and New Zealand, Jewish persecution victims from Yemen and Germany, a practitioner of Cao Dai from Vietnam and a Yazidi from Iraq all joined the president in the Oval Office as part of a four-day conference, called the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.

From Fox News

Rows of Cao Dai believers bowed in prayer.

From New York Times

That group included the 620,000 men in the armed forces and their 270,000 dependents, the police and civil servants, the strongly nationalist, anti-Communist religious sects of the Hoa Hao and Cao Dai, and sizable numbers of Catholics.

From Time Magazine Archive

Since they commanded the loyalty of the army, the resources of the government, and had the almost certain prospect of victory to use as leverage in making deals for votes with the country's large sects�the Hoa Hao and Cao Dai�Thieu and Ky had counted on taking more than 50% of the vote.

From Time Magazine Archive

Like Greene's naive hero himself, few Americans are capable of understanding the devious ramifications of Cao Dai, and it is doubtful if their number includes Hollywood Producer Joe Mankiewicz.

From Time Magazine Archive