mystique

Etymology

It is borrowed from French mystique,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} the noun use of the adjective meaning “mystic, mystical”,^[2][3][4] from Latin mysticus,^[3][4][5] which is from Ancient Greek μυστικός (mustikós, “secret, mystic, connected with the mysteries”), from μύστης (mústēs, “one who has been initiated”).^[5] Barnhart takes the French source as the noun meaning "a mystic",^[6] but the OED notes that the French noun in the English sense is apparently recorded only from the early 20th century, later than the English word.^[2] It is related to the adjective mystic.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

An atmosphere of mystery and veneration surrounding a person or thing: 1891, in a letter of E. Dowson of 10 May.^[2][5][6][3] Collins dates the word to the 20th century^[7] and the Oxford Dictionary of English to the late 19th.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The word was soon applied to doctrines, arts and professions: the Shorter Oxford's definition includes any professional skill or technique able to mystify and impress the outsider,^[9] and Merriam-Webster gives the special esoteric skill of a calling as a separate sense.^[10][3] From 1943, in Herbert Read, it also denoted the thing that has such an aura, often disparagingly, something blindly venerated.^[2] The Shorter Oxford quotes Orwell on the beliefs designed "to sustain the mystique of the Party".^[9] The aura it names often lends its object an air of glamour or desirability.^[2][7]

Timeline

• 1891 – an atmosphere of mystery, awe or veneration around a person or thing.^[2][5][6][3]
• 1943 – something that has such an aura; something blindly venerated.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. An aura of mystery, power or awe surrounding a person or thing that raises its value or appeal: the mystique of the old film studios.^{[7][3][11][2]}
2. The special esoteric skill or technique of a calling or activity, especially one that impresses outsiders.^[10][3][9]
3. Something that is the object of such an aura or veneration, often (disparaging) something revered without question.^[3][2]

Related words

• mystic
• mystical
• mystery
• mysticism

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin