Where does “mystery” come from?
Mystery comes from Middle English mysterie, from Old French mistere, from Latin mysterium, ultimately from Latin minor meaning smaller, via Latin ministerium and Latin minister.
mystery (English): Something secret or unexplainable; an unknown;...
Definitions
- Something secret or unexplainable; an unknown;...
Ancestry of “mystery”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | mysterie | Obscure or esoteric religious teachings or... |
| 2 | Old French | mistere | mystery |
| 3 | Latin | mystērium | mystery (secret rite or worship) |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | μυστήριον | revealed secret; mystery, secret; object used in... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | μύστης | one who has been initiated, initiate |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | μυέω | I initiate |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -έω | Used to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -éyeti | Forms causative imperfective verbs from roots;... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yeti | Creates transitive imperfective verbs from roots |