mystery

mystery

mystery¹ [mis′tə rē, mis′trē]

n.

pl. mysteries [ME mysterye < L mysterium (in N.T., supernatural thing) < Gr mystērion, a secret rite (in N.T., divine secret) < mystēs, one initiated into the mysteries < myein, to initiate into the mysteries, orig., to close: see MYOPE]

1. something unexplained, unknown, or kept secret [the mystery of life]

2.

a) any thing or event that remains so secret or obscure as to excite curiosity [a murder mystery]

b) a novel, story, or play involving such an event, esp. a crime and the gradual discovery of who committed it

3. the quality of being inexplicable; obscurity or secrecy [an air of mystery surrounding the affair]

4. [pl.] secret rites or doctrines known only to a small, esoteric group; specif., in ancient Greece, religious ceremonies or doctrines revealed only to the initiated

5. [pl.] any of the ancient cults characterized by such ceremonies [the Eleusinian mysteries]

6. [? infl. by MYSTERY²] MYSTERY PLAY

7. R.C.Ch.

a) a sacrament; esp. the Eucharist

b) any of fifteen events in the lives of Jesus and Mary serving as a subject for meditation during the saying of the rosary

8. Theol. any religious truth made known only by divine revelation and accepted through faith

SYN.- MYSTERY¹ is applied to something beyond human knowledge or understanding, or it merely refers to any unexplained or seemingly inexplicable matter; ENIGMA specifically applies to that whose meaning is hidden by cryptic or ambiguous allusions, and generally, to anything very difficult to explain; a RIDDLE¹ is an enigma (usually in the form of a question in guessing games) that involves paradoxes; a PUZZLE is a situation, problem, or, often, a contrivance, that requires some ingenuity to solve or explain; CONUNDRUM is specifically applied to a riddle whose answer is a pun, and generally, to any puzzling question or problem

mystery² [mis′tə rē]

n.

pl. mysteries [altered < ME misterie, a trade, craft < ML misterium, altered < L ministerium, office, occupation (see MINISTER), by confusion with mysterium (see MYSTERY¹)] Archaic

1. a craft or trade

2. GUILD (sense 1)