mystérieux French · revision 38685

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1475, Georges Chastellain|origins=grc μυστήριον}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /mis.te.ʁjø/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''mystérieux''' (feminine mystérieuse, masculine plural mystérieux, feminine plural mystérieuses)^(Wiktionary)

+ Middle French [[m|frm|mysterieux]].^(Wiktionary) Old French also had an adjective ''misterial'', as in ''la misterial sepmaine'' “Holy Week” in Jean de Meun.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|fr|mystère|-eux]].^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary) [[mystère|alt=Mystère]] was borrowed in the late 12th century from [[la|mystērium|t=rites open only to the initiated; secret]], itself from [[grc|μυστήριον|tr=mustḗrion|t=secret rite, mystery]], which belongs with [[m|grc|μύω|tr=múō|t=to close (the eyes or lips)]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The adjective is recorded indirectly a little earlier through its adverb [[mystérieusement]] (1461).^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Its first record is in Georges Chastellain's ''Dit de Vérité'', written before 1475, with the sense “having a secret, enigmatic side”;^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) the Grand Robert dates it to 1468, the GLLF to about 1460 and the Petit Robert to 1440.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Unlike [[mystère]], whose first senses were religious, the adjective had everyday lay senses from the start.^(DHLF 1992) Rabelais (1552) wrote of ''motz mysterieux'', “words hard to understand”.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873) Cotgrave (1611) has the sense “containing something hidden or unknown”, and Pascal (before 1662) used it of a person who makes a mystery of things not worth hiding, a use made into a noun by Richelet (1680).^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi)

+

+ The religious sense “relating to the sacred mysteries” came only in the 17th century, with Bossuet (1675).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) Chateaubriand (1803) used the masculine as a neuter noun, ''le mystérieux'', for the mysterious quality of something.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1461 – The adverb ''mystérieusement''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * Before 1475 – Chastellain uses ''mystérieux'' for something enigmatic.^(TLFi)

+ * 1552 – ''Motz mysterieux'', in Rabelais's ''Quart Livre''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1611 – Cotgrave records the sense “hiding something unknown”.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * Before 1662 – Pascal uses it of a secretive person.^(TLFi)

+ * 1675 – The religious sense, in Bossuet.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1803 – ''Le mystérieux'' as a noun, in Chateaubriand.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(literary or technical)'' Relating to a cult or [[m|en|mystery]] reserved for the initiated: ''des rites mystérieux''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # That cannot be known or explained, [[m|en|mysterious]]: ''une maladie mystérieuse''; strange, suggesting hidden forces: ''une vallée mystérieuse''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # Hard to understand, [[m|en|enigmatic]]: ''une lettre mystérieuse''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+ # Kept secret, hidden: ''un rendez-vous mystérieux''.^(Littré 1873)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(of a person)'' Who makes a mystery of things, [[m|en|secretive]]; whose identity is unknown: ''un mystérieux correspondant''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''Le mystérieux'': the mysterious side of something.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[mystérieusement]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mystère]]

+ * [[mystique]]

+ * [[la|mystērium]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}