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English
Etymology
From Middle English mysterie, from Anglo-Norman misterie (Old French mistere), from Latin mysterium, from Ancient Greek μυστήριον (mustḗrion, “a mystery, a secret, a secret rite”), from μύστης (mústēs, “initiated one”), from μυέω (muéō, “I initiate”), from μύω (múō, “I shut”). Displaced native Old English ġerȳne.
Pronunciation
- enPR: mĭsʹt(ə)rē, IPA(key): /ˈmɪst(ə)ɹi/
- Rhymes: -ɪstəɹi
- Hyphenation: mys‧te‧ry, myst‧ery
Noun
mystery (countable and uncountable, plural mysteries)
- Something secret or unexplainable; an unknown.
The truth behind the events remains a mystery.
1927, F. E. Penny, chapter 4, in Pulling the Strings:The case was that of a murder. It had an element of mystery about it, however, which was puzzling the authorities. A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff.
- Someone or something with an obscure or puzzling nature.
That man is a mystery.
1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Hocussing of Cigarette”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:Then I had a good think on the subject of the hocussing of Cigarette, and I was reluctantly bound to admit that once again the man in the corner had found the only possible solution to the mystery.
- An account, story, book, film, or play, often with the theme of crime or murder, with a surprise ending that explains all the strange events that have occurred.
- (obsolete) A secret or mystical meaning.
- 1567, Matteo Bandello, Certain Tragical Discourses of Bandello, tr. Geffraie Fenton:
- ...and, not knowing the meaning or misterie of her pollicie, forgat no termes of reproche or rigorous rebuke against his chast doughter.
- A religious truth not understandable by the application of human reason alone (without divine aid).
- 1744 (first printed), Jonathan Swift, A Sermon on the Trinity
- If God should please to reveal unto us this great mystery of the Trinity, or some other mysteries in our holy religion, we should not be able to understand them, unless he would bestow on us some new faculties of the mind.
- (archaic outside Eastern Orthodoxy) A sacrament.
1809, Sir Robert Ker Porter, Travelling Sketches in Russia and Sweden: During the Years 1805, 1806, 1807, 1808:There are seven mysteries, or sacraments, in the Greek church, viz. baptism, the chrism (a rite peculiar to this church), the eucharist, confession, ordination, marriage, and the holy oil.
- (chiefly in the plural) A secret religious celebration, admission to which was usually through initiation.
the Mysteries of Mithras
1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, , →OCLC, part I, page 196:There’s no initiation either into such mysteries.
1928, Lewis Spence, Mysteries of Britain, page v. 123:It is, indeed, part of the ritual of the candidate for adeptship into the British mysteries, resembling that for the neophyte into the Osirian, Cabiric or Orphean mysteries.
- (Catholicism) A particular event or series of events in the life of Christ.
The second decade of the Rosary concerns the Sorrowful mysteries, such as the crucifixion and the crowning with thorns.
- (archaic) A craft, art or trade; specifically a guild of craftsmen.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Terms etymologically related to mystery
Translations
something secret or unexplainable
- Albanian: mister (sq) m
- Arabic: سِرّ (ar) m (sirr)
- Armenian: գաղտնիք (hy) (gaġtnikʿ), առեղծված (hy) (aṙeġcvac)
- Assamese: please add this translation if you can
- Asturian: misteriu m
- Azerbaijani: sirr (az)
- Basque: misterio
- Belarusian: таямні́ца f (tajamníca), зага́дка f (zahádka)
- Bengali: রহস্য (bn) (rohosśo)
- Breton: kevrin (br) m
- Bulgarian: мисте́рия (bg) f (mistérija), та́йна (bg) f (tájna)
- Burmese: စကားထာ (my) (ca.ka:hta)
- Catalan: misteri (ca) m
- Cebuano: tugahala
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 神祕/神秘 (san4 bei3)
- Hokkien: 神祕/神秘 (zh-min-nan) (sîn-pì)
- Hokkien: 神奇 (zh-min-nan) (sîn-kî)
- Mandarin: 神祕/神秘 (zh) (shénmì)
- Czech: záhada (cs) f
- Danish: mysterium n
- Dutch: mysterie (nl) n
- Esperanto: mistero (eo)
- Estonian: müsteerium
- Finnish: salaisuus (fi)
- French: mystère (fr) m
- Galician: misterio m
- Georgian: საიდუმლოება (saidumloeba), ხვაშიადი (xvašiadi)
- German: Geheimnis (de) n, Rätsel (de) n
- Gothic: 𐍂𐌿𐌽𐌰 f (runa)
- Greek: μυστήριο (el) n (mystírio)
- Ancient: μυστήριον n (mustḗrion)
- Hebrew: תַּעֲלוּמָה (he) f (ta'aluma)
- Hindi: रहस्य (hi) f (rahasya), राज़ m (rāz), राज (hi) m (rāj), मुअम्मा (hi) m (muammā), सेर (hi) m (ser)
- Hungarian: rejtély (hu)
- Icelandic: ráðgáta f
- Indonesian: misteri (id)
- Italian: mistero (it) m, arcano (it) m, enigma (it) m
- Japanese: ミステリー (misuterī), 不思議 (ja) (ふしぎ, fushigi), 神秘 (ja) (しんぴ, shinpi)
- Kalmyk: нууц (nuuts)
- Kannada: please add this translation if you can
- Kapampangan: misteriu duala
- Kazakh: құпия (qūpiä), сыр (kk) (syr)
- Khmer: អាថ៌កំបាំង (ʼaat kɑmbang)
- Korean: 신비(神秘) (ko) (sinbi), 미스터리 (miseuteori)
- Kurdish:
- Northern Kurdish: sir (ku), raz (ku), sirr (ku), surr (ku)
- Kyrgyz: сыр (ky) (sır), табышмак (ky) (tabışmak)
- Lao: ຄວາມລຶກລັບ (khuām lưk lap)
- Latin: mysterium n, obscuritas, occulta, naturae sacra, arcanum n
- Latvian: noslēpums m, mistērija f
- Lithuanian: paslaptis m, misterija f
- Macedonian: та́јна f (tájna), за́гатка f (zágatka), мисте́рија f (mistérija)
- Malay: misteri
- Maltese: misteru m
- Maori: mea ngaro, pirikoko, pirikoko
- Mongolian:
- Cyrillic: нууц (mn) (nuuc)
- Mongolian: ᠨᠢᠭᠤᠴᠠ (niɣuča)
- Nepali: रहस्य (rahasya)
- Norman: mystéthe m
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: mysterium n
- Occitan: mistèri (oc) m
- Odia: please add this translation if you can
- Old English: ġerȳne n
- Pashto: سر (ps) m (sar), راز (ps) m (rāz), نوز m (nawz), اسرار (ps) m pl (asrãr)
- Persian: راز (fa) (râz), معما (fa) (mo'ammâ), سر (fa) (serr)
- Plautdietsch: Jeheemniss n
- Polish: tajemnica (pl) f, misterium (pl) n
- Portuguese: mistério (pt) m
- Punjabi: please add this translation if you can
- Romanian: mister (ro) n
- Russian: та́йна (ru) f (tájna), зага́дка (ru) f (zagádka)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: та̑јна f, за̏гоне̄тка f, мѝсте̄рӣј m
- Roman: tajna (sh) f, zagonetka (sh) f, mìstērīj (sh) m
- Slovak: záhada f
- Slovene: skrivnost (sl) n
- Spanish: misterio (es) m, arcano (es)
- Swahili: siri (sw), kilinge (sw)
- Swedish: mysterium (sv) n, mystär (sv) c
- Tagalog: hiwaga (tl), misteryo
- Tajik: роз (roz), муаммо (tg) (muammo), сир (tg) (sir)
- Tamil: மர்மம் (ta) (marmam)
- Telugu: please add this translation if you can
- Thai: ความลี้ลับ (kwaam-líi-láp)
- Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
- Turkish: gizem (tr), esrâr, sır (tr)
- Turkmen: syr
- Ukrainian: тає́мниця (uk) f (tajémnycja), зага́дка (uk) f (zahádka)
- Urdu: راز m (rāz), سر (ur) m (sirr)
- Uyghur: سىر (sir)
- Uzbek: sir (uz)
- Vietnamese: bí ẩn (vi), huyền bí (vi)
- Volapük: müster (vo), rätöf (vo)
- Welsh: dirgelwch f
- Yiddish: מיסטעריע f (misterye)
- Zulu: zinga
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someone or thing with an obscure or puzzling nature
An account, often about crime or murder, with an ending explaining all that happened:
an event in the life of Jesus used as a focus for devotions
Translations to be checked
References
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Anglo-Norman misterie.
Noun
mystery
- Alternative form of mysterie (“mystery”)
Etymology 2
From Old French mistere.
Noun
mystery
- Alternative form of mysterie (“duty”)