μυστικός

Forms

μῠστῐκός (mustikós) m (feminine μῠστῐκή, neuter μῠστῐκόν); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek μύστης (mústēs, “initiate”) + -ικός (-ikós, “adjective suffix”).^[1][2] The noun belongs with μυέω (muéō, “to initiate”), which Beekes explains as an innovation beside μύω (múō, “to close the eyes or lips”), a verb that may go back to Proto-Indo-European *mews- (“to shut”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in a fragment of Aeschylus and in Herodotus, where it means “relating to the Mysteries”: Herodotus uses it of the Iacchus chant.^[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Greek it kept to the Mysteries: Aristophanes speaks of “mystic” pigs for sacrifice and of a breeze smelling of the initiates' torches, and Thucydides calls the rites themselves τὰ μυστικά.^[4][5] The Neoplatonists used it for hidden or mystical doctrine.^[4] Cicero used it in his letters in the sense “private, secret”, and the adverb meant “secretly” in Strabo and the Septuagint.^[4] Latin borrowed it as mysticus.^[7]

Medieval vernacular Greek used it for what is secret or confidential.^[8] In Modern Greek μυστικός (mystikós) is a learned word: its main sense “secret” owes something to French secret, and its sense “mystical” continues the Hellenistic use.^[9] Babiniotis dates the derivative μυστικισμός (mystikismós) to 1812, a rendering of French mysticisme.^[2]

Timeline

• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it of a rite of the Mysteries.^[4][10]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it for the Iacchus chant.^[4][5][10]
• 5th century BC – Thucydides calls the rites of the Mysteries τὰ μυστικά.^[4][5]
• 1st century BC – Cicero uses it in his letters in the sense “secret”.^[4]
• 5th century AD – Proclus uses it for mystical doctrine.^[4][10]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular texts use it for secret or confidential things.^[8]
• 1812 – The Modern Greek derivative μυστικισμός (mystikismós) “mysticism” is first recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relating to the mysteries, mystic.^[4][5]
2. (neuter plural, as a noun) The Mysteries, their rites.^[4][5]
3. (Neoplatonism) Mystical, of hidden doctrine.^[4]
4. (late) Private, secret.^[4][8]

Word family

• μυστικῶς (mustikôs)

Related words

• μύστης (mústēs)
• μυστήριον (mustḗrion)
• μυέω (muéō)
• Latin mysticus

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
3. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
8. ^ a b c Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
9. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
10. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge