The old man living in the forest was a ____ who claimed to see visions of the future.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The tribe's spiritual leader was considered a ____ who could communicate with the ancestors and predict several upcoming changes in the weather.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree
Ancient Greek μῡ́ω (mū́ō)
Proto-Indo-European *-eti
Proto-Indo-European *-eyéti
Proto-Indo-European *-esyéti
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti
Proto-Indo-European *-yeti
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti
Proto-Indo-European *-yeti
Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti
Ancient Greek -έω (-éō)
Ancient Greek μῠέω (mŭéō)
Proto-Indo-European *-tósder.
Ancient Greek -της (-tēs)
Ancient Greek μῠ́στης (mŭ́stēs)
Proto-Indo-European *-kos
Ancient Greek -κός (-kós)
Ancient Greek -ῐκός (-ĭkós)
Ancient Greek μῠστῐκός (mŭstĭkós)der.
Latin mysticus
Old French mistiqueder.
English mystic
From Old French mistique, from Latin mysticus, from Ancient Greek μυστικός (mustikós, “secret, mystic”), from μύστης (mústēs, “one who has been initiated”). Doublet of mystique.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Taught he not thee—the man of eld, / Whose eyes within his eyes beheld / Heaven's numerous hierarchy span / The mystic gulf from God to man?"
— 1847, R[alph] W[aldo] Emerson, “Threnody”, in Poems, Boston, Mass.: James Munroe and Company, →OCLC, page 245:
"Tho’ truths in manhood darkly join,
Deep-seated in our mystic frame,
We yield all blessing to the name
Of Him that made them current coin; […]"
— 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXXVI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 56:
"Mystic’s maritime history dates to its days as a shipbuilding center, a time well preserved at the Mystic Seaport Museum, the world’s leading and largest of its kind, home to the famed 1800s whaleship, Charles W. Morgan."
— 2017 April 2, Tara Donaldson, “5 quiet U.S. coastal towns that offer a seaside escape”, in CNN: