hermetic
/hə(ɹ)ˈmɛtɪk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.56 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Pertaining to the ancient Greek Olympian god Hermes.
adj
Pertaining to Hermes Trismegistus or the writings attributed to him.
adj
Pertaining to alchemy or occult practices; magical, alchemical.
adj
adj
Alternative letter-case form of hermetic.
Example Sentences
- ""As above, so below" is an axiom from Hermetic mysticism, and in this Hermetic vision of physiology the tongue is connected through the spinal column to the penis."
- "Newton subscribed to the hermetic notion that the true knowledge of the universe had been earlier revealed by God to the ancients, the prisci theologi."
- "In other words, it is a mistake to regard this or any film text 'as if it were merely hermetic', or an isolated island."
- "Increasingly isolated in the military's hermetic world, as winter stretched endlessly onward, Gamelin was finally overcome by an insidious complacency in the adequacy of his fellow generals, their British counterparts and his own troops."
- "This meant, in the first place, reestablishing an intellectual contact which, given tight Francoist censorship and Spain's almost hermetic isolation from the outside world during the 1940s, had been practically nonexistent."
- "In its early days, progressive rock drew on the hermetic streak of psychedelia, the supposition that music should contain hidden meanings which insiders would be aware of, but outsiders would be oblivious to."
Etymology
From Medieval Latin hermeticus, irregular derivation of Hermes Trismegistus, the god and mythological alchemist, said to possess a magic ability to seal treasure chests so that nothing could access their contents.
Word Breakdown
- Root: hermeticus
Inflected Forms
more hermetic (comparative)
most hermetic (superlative)
hermetical (alternative)
hermetick (alternative, obsolete)