[edit] Dictionary definitions of "cult"
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary lists five different meanings of the word "cult"32.
Formal religious veneration
A system of religious beliefs and ritual; also: its body of adherents;
A religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also: its body of adherents;
A system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator;
Great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book).
The Random House Unabridged Dictionary definitions are:
A particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies;
An instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers;
The object of such devotion;
A group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc;
Group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols;
A religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader;
The members of such a religion or sect;
Any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific.