mystic

[mis-tik]

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adjective

involving or characterized by esoteric, otherworldly, or symbolic practices or content, as certain religious ceremonies and art; spiritually significant; ethereal.

of the nature of or pertaining to mysteries known only to the initiated: mystic rites.

of occult character, power, or significance: a mystic formula.

of obscure or mysterious character or significance.

of or relating to mystics or mysticism.

noun

a person who claims to attain, or believes in the possibility of attaining, insight into mysteries transcending ordinary human knowledge, as by direct communication with the divine or immediate intuition in a state of spiritual ecstasy.

a person initiated into religious mysteries.

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Origin of mystic

1275–1325; Middle English mystik < Latin mysticus < Greek mystikós, equivalent to mýst(ēs) an initiate into the mysteries + -ikos -ic; akin to myeîn to initiate, teach

Related forms

mys·tic·i·ty

[mi-stis-i-tee] /mɪˈstɪs ɪ ti/, nounmys·tic·ly, adverban·ti·mys·tic, adjective, nounnon·mys·tic, adjective, noun

sem·i·mys·tic, adjectiveun·mys·tic, adjective

Mystic

[mis-tik]

noun

a section of Groton, in SE Connecticut: maritime museum.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mystic

At Temple, Coltrane no longer operated as a jazz artist improvising melodies, but more like a mystic on a vision quest.
What if Jazz Giant John Coltrane Had Lived?|Ted Gioia|September 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The other night, quite by chance, I came across some lines in Rumi, the 13th-century poet—a Sufi mystic from Persia.
Only Iraq Can Save Itself From Chaos|Jay Parini|June 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then bed down in the seaside town of Mystic, Connecticut, with views of the wharf from your private room at the Steamboat Inn.
The U.S. Road Trips You Should Really Take|Lonely Planet|April 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It revealed his vulnerability to ideas, ideology, and mystic hoo-ha.
Norman Mailer: A Life Lived Loud|Adam Begley|October 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST

"The yuppies are coming," a cop complains in Mystic River, like a 21st-century Paul Revere.
Enough With the Boston Movies!|Ben Crair|December 9, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Ghastly images are before us and around us, the mystic symbols of a horrid religion!
The Scalp Hunters|Mayne Reid
From the dark depths of mystic crypts came groanings, like the roaring of lions penned beside the caves of martyrs.
The Battle Of The Strong, Complete|Gilbert Parker
No other word was uttered there; Krishna's name became a mystic word to express all their different purposes.
Chaitanya's Life And Teachings|Krishna das Kaviraja
She received him with an air of mystic calm, gracious and dignified as the high-priestess of a Grecian temple.
King--of the Khyber Rifles|Talbot Mundy
It was in vain to talk to him of the rates of foreign exchange in the mystic jargon of the Bourse.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 56, Number 350, December 1844|Various

British Dictionary definitions for mystic

mystic

noun

a person who achieves mystical experience or an apprehension of divine mysteries

adjective

another word for mystical

Word Origin for mystic

C14: via Latin from Greek mustikos, from mustēs mystery initiate; related to muein to initiate into sacred rites

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

Word Origin and History for mystic

mystic

adj.

late 14c., "spiritually allegorical, pertaining to mysteries of faith," from Old French mistique "mysterious, full of mystery" (14c.), or directly from Latin mysticus "mystical, mystic, of secret rites" (source also of Italian mistico, Spanish mistico), from Greek mystikos "secret, mystic, connected with the mysteries," from mystes "one who has been initiated" (see mystery (n.1)). Meaning "pertaining to occult practices or ancient religions" first recorded 1610s.

mystic

"exponent of mystical theology," 1670s, from mystic (adj.). In Middle English, the noun meant "symbolic meaning, interpretation" (early 14c.).

Mystic

place name in Connecticut, U.S., deformed from Algonquian missituk "great tidal river," from missi "large" + -tuk "tidal river."