mystery

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
  2. noun a story about a crime (usually murder) presented as a novel or play or movie

Etymology

From Middle English mysterie, from Anglo-Norman misterie (Old French mistere), from Latin mysterium, from Ancient Greek μυστήριον (mustḗrion, “a mystery, a secret, a secret rite”), from μύστης (mústēs, “initiated one”), from μυέω (muéō, “to initiate”), from μύω (múō, “to shut”). Displaced native Old English ġerȳne.

In classic literature

Synonyms

enigma, secret, closed book

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