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esoteric - 6 dictionary results

es⋅o⋅ter⋅ic

  [es-uh-ter-ik]
Use esoteric in a Sentence
–adjective
1. understood by or meant for only the select few who have special knowledge or interest; recondite: poetry full of esoteric allusions.
2. belonging to the select few.
3. private; secret; confidential.
4. (of a philosophical doctrine or the like) intended to be revealed only to the initiates of a group: the esoteric doctrines of Pythagoras.
Origin:
1645–55; < Gk esōterikós inner, equiv. to ester(os) inner + -ikos -ic

Related forms:
es⋅o⋅ter⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. abstruse, arcane, cryptic, enigmatic.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To esoteric
es·o·ter·ic   (ěs'ə-těr'ĭk)   
adj.  
    1. Intended for or understood by only a particular group: an esoteric cult. See Synonyms at mysterious.
    2. Of or relating to that which is known by a restricted number of people.
    3. Confined to a small group: esoteric interests.
    4. Not publicly disclosed; confidential.
    1. Confined to a small group: esoteric interests.
    2. Not publicly disclosed; confidential.

[Greek esōterikos, from esōterō, comparative of esō, within; see en in Indo-European roots.]
es'o·ter'i·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Esoteric

Es`o*ter"ic\ ([e^]s`[-o]*t[e^]"[i^]k), a. [Gr. 'eswteriko`s, fr. 'esw`teros inner, interior, comp. fr. 'e`sw in, within, fr. 'es, e'is, into, fr. 'en in. See In.] Designed for, and understood by, the specially initiated alone; not communicated, or not intelligible, to the general body of followers; private; interior; acroamatic; -- said of the private and more recondite instructions and doctrines of philosophers. Opposed to exoteric.

Enough if every age produce two or three critics of this esoteric class, with here and there a reader to understand them. --De Quincey.

Esoteric

Es`o*ter"ic\, a. Marked by secrecy or privacy; private; select; confidential; as, an esoteric purpose; an esoteric meeting.

Esoteric

Es`o*ter"ic\, n. (Philos.) (a) An esoteric doctrine or treatise; esoteric philosophy; esoterics. (b) One who believes, or is an initiate, in esoteric doctrines or rites.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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esoteric 
1655, from Gk. esoterikos "belonging to an inner circle," from esotero, comp. adv. of eso "within." In Eng., originally of Pythagorean doctrines. According to Lucian, the division of teachings into exoteric and esoteric originated with Aristotle.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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