Etymologically
Log in

mysterious

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:19. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mɪˈstɪə̯.ɹi.əs/ (UK); /mɪˈstɪɹi.əs/, /məˈstɪɹi.əs/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French mystérieux, from mystère, mystery,[2][3][4] or formed from Latin mysterium (see mystery) and -ous.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Full of mystery, obscure, unexplained: 1578 in MWU, the 1610s in Etymonline, 1622 in the OED.[2][5][6]

Semantic evolution

Of words and language it is from 1616, and of God, religion and rites from 1624.[6] Of a person whose movements are full of mystery it is from 1620.[6] Earlier in the same sense was mysterial (early 15th century).[5] The Century Dictionary, quoted in Etymonline, notes that mysterious is the commonest word for what is unknown and excites curiosity, while mystic is used of what is designed to baffle all but the initiated.[5] Cowper's God moves in a mysterious way is from the Olney Hymns (1779).[5]

Timeline

  • early 15th century – mysterial.[5]
  • 1578 – first use (MWU).[2]
  • 1616 – of words.[6]
  • 1624 – of religion.[6]
  • 1779 – God moves in a mysterious way.[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Difficult or impossible to understand or explain.
  2. Arousing curiosity; enigmatic.
  3. Deliberately keeping something secret.

Word family

  • mysteriously
  • mysteriousness
  • unmysterious

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press