mystagogue

[ mis-tuh-gawg, -gog ]

/ ˈmɪs təˌgɔg, -ˌgɒg /

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noun

someone who instructs others before initiation into religious mysteries or before participation in the sacraments.

a person whose teachings are said to be founded on mystical revelations.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of mystagogue

1540–50; <Latin mystagōgus<Greek mystagōgós, equivalent to mýst(ēs) (see mystic) + ágōgos-agogue

OTHER WORDS FROM mystagogue

mys·ta·go·gy

[mis-tuh-goh-jee, -goj-ee], /ˈmɪs təˌgoʊ dʒi, -ˌgɒdʒ i/, mys·ta·go·gue·ry

[mis-tuh-gaw-guh-ree, -gog-uh-], /ˈmɪs təˌgɔ gə ri, -ˌgɒg ə-/, nounmys·ta·gog·ic

[mis-tuh-goj-ik], /ˌmɪs təˈgɒdʒ ɪk/, mys·ta·gog·i·cal, adjectivemys·ta·gog·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby mystagogue

Mysliveček, mysophilia, mysophobia, Mysore, MySpace, mystagogue, mysterious, mystery, mystery bag, mystery play, mystery tour

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mystagogue in a sentence

He had none of the airs of mystagogue, but talked to men, as he did to beasts, in the speech which was habitual to them.
Rest Harrow|Maurice Hewlett
Meursius,” says his editor, “was the true and legitimate mystagogue to the sanctuarius of Greece.
Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries, Vol. 2|Henry Hallam
But Barrs was too sprightly a spirit to remain a mystagogue.
Egoists|James Huneker
Henri Bergson is a mystagogue, and all mystagogues are mythomaniacs.
Unicorns|James Huneker

Nevertheless he was no anarchist and no mystagogue; and even where he was defective, his defect has commonly been stated wrongly.
The Victorian Age in Literature|G. K. Chesterton

British Dictionary definitions for mystagogue

mystagogue

/ (ˈmɪstəˌɡɒɡ) /

noun

(in Mediterranean mystery religions) a person who instructs those who are preparing for initiation into the mysteries

Derived forms of mystagogue

mystagogic (ˌmɪstəˈɡɒdʒɪk) or mystagogical, adjectivemystagogically, adverbmystagogy (ˈmɪstəˌɡɒdʒɪ), noun

Word Origin for mystagogue

C16: via Latin from Greek mustagōgos, from mustēs candidate for initiation + agein to lead. See mystic

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012