Etymologically
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mystical

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈmɪstɪkəl/, /ˈmɪstɪkl̩/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English mystic + -al.[2][3][4][5] The base adjective is from Latin mysticus (“mystical, of secret rites”), partly through Old French mistique (“mysterious”),[3][4][6] from Ancient Greek μυστικός (mustikós, “secret, connected with the mysteries”),[3][7][6] from μύστης (mústēs, “an initiate”),[3][7][6][4] which the Shorter Oxford derives from a verb meaning to close the eyes or lips, and so to initiate.[4] It is thus related to mystery.[6][3][7] The OED notes that one early use (1516) may rather mean "causing obscurity", which could point to a separate formation from mist and -ical.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Having a spiritual character or significance through a union with God beyond human understanding: before 1513, in Bradshaw's Life of Saint Werburge.[2] Etymonline gives "enigmatic, obscure, symbolic" in the late 15th century,[3] and the Shorter Oxford and Dictionary.com also date the word to the 15th century.[4][8]

Semantic evolution

The word began in theology: spiritually allegorical or symbolic, and of Scripture, having a hidden spiritual meaning beneath the literal one (1526).[2][4] A general sense "mysterious, enigmatic, obscure" followed in 1516,[2] and it was used from 1542 of matters concerned with the soul's communion with God or a higher spiritual power,[2] the sense "having spiritual significance" that Etymonline dates to the 1520s.[3] From 1577 it could refer to occult rites and practices.[2] Some early senses have died out: "secret, concealed" (1600–1687),[2] and of a person, "obscure in speech, versed in esoteric knowledge" (1604–1698).[2] Today Collins lists "a less common word for mysterious" beside the religious senses.[9]

Timeline

  • before 1513 – having a spiritual character through union with God.[2]
  • 1516 – mysterious, obscure, esoteric.[2]
  • 1526 – of Scripture, having a hidden spiritual meaning.[2]
  • 1529 – spiritually allegorical or symbolic.[2]
  • 1542 – concerned with the soul's communion with God.[2]
  • 1577 – relating to occult rites or practices.[2]
  • 1600 – secret, concealed (obsolete by 1687).[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Relating to mysticism, or to a direct, personal experience of communion with God or a spiritual reality: a mystical vision.[6][5][9]
  2. Having a spiritual meaning that is not evident to the senses or the intellect; symbolic or allegorical: a mystical reading of the parable.[5][6][2]
  3. Having occult or supernatural significance or force.[9][2]
  4. Inspiring awe; mysterious or enigmatic.[6][9][2]

Word family

  • mystically
  • mysticalness
  • mysticality
  • hypermystical
  • nonmystical
  • semimystical
  • unmystical

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  7. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  9. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins