Mysterium

//mɪˈstɪəɹɪəm// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any of various unknown elements thought to make up existing forms of matter, or a substance seen as an elemental or pure form of something else. historical

    "There are many such mysteria: milk is a mysterium of cheese and butter, and cheese in turn a mysterium of maggots, which were thought to form spontaneously in rotting food."

  2. 2
    The hypothetical source of a galactic radio emission at 1665 megahertz (later identified as due to hydroxyl radicals in interstellar space). historical

Example

More examples

"There are many such mysteria: milk is a mysterium of cheese and butter, and cheese in turn a mysterium of maggots, which were thought to form spontaneously in rotting food."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin mystērium. Doublet of mystery.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.