'Esoteric' Words Trivia Quiz

Answer: Recherché

The word recherché has the twin beauty of both being *and* meaning 'esoteric'. It comes from the French language (rechercher), and literally means 'carefully sought out'. The OED meaning is 'rare, exotic, or obscure'.

Answer: Lower than normal air pressure

The word 'rarefied', another wonderful synonym of esoteric, is derived from the Latin 'rarefacere' which literally means to 'grow thin, become rare'. I believe I recall Marv Albert employing the term 'rarefied' in the alternate sense when referring to Michael Jordan's ability to leap into the 'rarefied air' of the upper atmosphere.

Answer: Arcane

'Complex' is from the Latin 'complectere', meaning 'to comprise', while 'secret' is from the Latin 'secretus', meaning 'separate'. The word 'mysterious' is related to the Greek 'mustikos' (an initiated person), the derivation for the term 'mystic'. 'Arcane' is from the Latin root 'arca' (chest), which also happens to be the source for the word 'ark' (as in Noah).

Answer: Delphic

A platonic relationship involves intimacy but no physical relations. A spartan environment is one that is very austere; indifferent to any sort of luxury or comfort. Something that is Dionysian relates to human sensuality and spontaneity of emotion.

The word 'Delphic' references the oracle at ancient Delphi who often provided pilgrims with intentionally ambiguous prognostications. It now refers to anything deliberately obscure.

Answer: Abstruse

The word 'abyssal' refers to the deep, dark depths, typically of the ocean. 'Aberrant' is a term used to describe something that has parted from acceptable norms (for example, 'aberrant behavior'). We use the term 'abject' when we want to describe something that is utterly degrading or miserable, such as poverty.

The word 'Abstruse' means 'difficult to understand', and is derived from the Latin 'abstrudere', which means 'to conceal from'.

Answer: Judaism

The word 'cabbalistic' literally refers to esoteric doctrine, such as that found in the Jewish Kabbalah (or Cabbala - mystical Judaism). The word is from Rabbinical Hebrew and ultimately means 'to receive/accept'.

Answer: True

Indeed, occult has variable meanings, though they all relate when one discovers the Latin etymology ('occuler', meaning 'to conceal'). The word occult also has a verb form, meaning to cut off or conceal something from view. The word in this sense is most frequently employed by astronomers describing the movement of celestial bodies (for example, if the moon blocks our view of Venus we say that Venus has been occulted by the moon).

Answer: Hidden

'Hidden' is related to 'hide', a term of Germanic origin.

The word 'cryptic' is from the Greek 'kruptos', meaning 'hidden'. An 'enigma' is a riddle, according to the meaning of the ancient Greek 'ainigma'. The source of 'mystic' is described above, in question three.

Answer: False

Quite the opposite, actually. 'Opaque' is a Latin-derived term ('opacus' - darkened) that describes something that is unable to be seen through. The word also has a meaning akin to esoteric, describing something that is difficult or impossible to comprehend.

Answer: exoteric

'Endoteric' might be the appropriate choice, but so far as I have been able to ascertain, no word of that sort exists. The proper opposite of 'esoteric' is the word 'exoteric', meaning that which is intended for the general public. I would like to think that this quiz is more exoteric than esoteric, though the theme may tend more toward the latter.

Thank you for playing, I hope you enjoyed the quiz and will try some of my other stuff.