mystery

Definitions

1. 1.If God should please to reveal unto us this great mystery of the Trinity, or some other mysteries in our holy religion, we should not be able to understand them, unless he would bestow on us some new faculties of the mind. Swift.
2. 2.A kind of secret religious celebration, to which none were admitted except those who had been initiated by certain preparatory ceremonies; -- usually plural; as, the Eleusinian mysteries.
3. 3.pl. The consecrated elements in the eucharist.
4. 4.Anything artfully made difficult; an enigma.
5. 5.A trade; a handicraft; hence, any business with which one is usually occupied. Fie upon him, he will discredit our mystery. Shak. And that which is the noblest mystery Brings to reproach and common infamy. Spenser.
6. 6.A dramatic representation of a Scriptural subject, often some event in the life of Christ; a dramatic composition of this character; as, the Chester Mysteries, consisting of dramas acted by various craft associations in that city in the early part of the 14th century. "Mystery plays," so called because acted by craftsmen. Skeat.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

• What does "mystery" mean?
• What is another word for "mystery"?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is mystery.

• What is a kind of secret religious celebration, to which none were admitted except those who had been initiated by certain preparatory ceremonies; -- usually plural; as, the Eleusinian mysteries called?
• What is pl. The consecrated elements in the eucharist called?
• What is anything artfully made difficult; an enigma called?