means A belief or practice based on the idea that certain actions, objects, or events influence outcomes through supernatural cause and effect rather than evidence or reason.

from From Latin superstitio, built from super- ("over, above") and the root of stare ("to stand") — so something like "a standing over." The exact sense behind that image is debated: some Romans linked it to standing in dread before the divine, others to those who "survived" or outlived something and credited unseen forces. It carried a sniff of disapproval even then, marking excessive or misplaced religious fear. English borrowed it via Old French in the medieval period.