Etymologically
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mysticus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈmys.tɪ.kʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈmis.ti.kus][1]

Forms

mysticus (feminine mystica, neuter mysticum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek μυστικός (mustikós, “connected with the mysteries”).[2][3][1] The Greek adjective is formed from μύστης (mústēs, “initiate”),[1][4] which Köbler connects with μυέω (muéō), to close the lips.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Virgil,[5] who in the Georgics names the “mystica vannus Iacchi”, the winnowing fan of Bacchus, which had a secret meaning in his worship.[6][7]

Semantic evolution

The poets used it of things belonging to secret rites:[6] Tibullus of the vine sacred to Bacchus, Martial of the mystic rites of Dindymene, Statius of a torch.[6][7] Ovid transferred it to secrecy in general, speaking of love affairs kept hidden.[2] In the plural, mystica were the objects used in the rites,[6][7] and Pliny the Elder records Mysticus as the title of a pantomime.[7]

Christian writers gave it the meaning “mystical”: of hidden or symbolic meaning, to be understood figuratively.[8][9] Niermeyer also gives “sacred”,[8] and British writers speak of mystical baptism and of the mystical meaning of Scripture.[9] In Ecclesiastical Latin it also served as a noun for a mystic.[10] English took it over in the late 14th century as mystic, from Old French or directly from Latin.[4]

Timeline

  • 70–19 BC – Virgil speaks of the mystic winnowing fan of Bacchus.[6][5]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of secret love affairs.[2][5]
  • 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses it of the rites of Dindymene.[6][5]
  • c. 390 AD – Ammianus Marcellinus speaks of a mystic word.[7][5]
  • 639–709 AD – Aldhelm writes of the mystical rite of baptism.[9][5]
  • late 14th century – English borrows it as mystic.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of, belonging to, or used in sacred mysteries or secret rites.[2][6]
  2. (transferred) Secret, hidden.[2][9]
  3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Mystical, symbolic, allegorical; sacred.[8][10][9]

Noun

  1. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A mystic.[10]

Word family

  • mystica
  • mysticē
  • English mystic

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ a b c d e Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson