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Glite Dictionary
esoterica

esoterica

2 9.9
Special items or facts that only a few people with expert knowledge understand
  • noun
  • /ˌɛsəˈtɛrɪkə/
  • Formal
translation icon : esoterismo
  • Vinography may be the last place you expect to see discussions about the esoterica of interstate wine shipping laws and the ongoing legal battles around them.

Examples

  • It also testifies to the mystery surrounding Jubilees, speaking to the way Jerome and other early Christians viewed the text as esoterica.

    Academic text (2018)

  • The Da Vinci Code opens with the murder of the Louvre's chief curator and suggests religious esoterica.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Yet modern mathematics is not confined to intellectual esoterica.

    Academic text (2004)

  • Yet, the papyrus also suggests a Christian popular enthusiasm for esoterica.

    Academic text (2018)

  • Open markets, advertising, reputation, and experience are the real stuff of which competitive markets are made, not the esoterica of long-form contracts.

    Academic text (1997)

  • In other words, esoterica and recondite studies proved to be the logical consequence of professionalization.

    Academic text (1991)

  • People are impressed that I am a black robe mage from the Imperial University, but black robe studies cover esoterica and not much else.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Much of the info on SABR-L involves statistical number-crunching, historical esoterica, biographical info, and so on.

    Blog text (6)

  • As an inevitable result, the criteria used to measure educational outcomes are defined by whatever esoterica professors choose to teach (Rothwell & Sredl, 1992).

    Academic text (1997)

  • The book discusses ancient religious esoterica that only a handful of specialists can fully comprehend.

Synonyms

esotericism
vsesoterica
  • Formal
1 9.9

Secret or special knowledge and ways of doing things that only a small group understands

is about concrete items meant for specialists rather than the broader body of ideas
arcanum
vsesoterica
  • Literature
1 9.9

A secret piece of knowledge known by only a few people

focuses on multiple items aimed at a specialist audience rather than a single secret

How Obscure

arcanum
  • Literature
1 9.9
esoterica
  • Formal
2 9.9

Surface Forms

esoterica singular
esotericae plural

Morphology

esoterica = esoteric (transparent) = esoteric + a

The noun is directly formed from the adjective 'esoteric' to mean 'esoteric things' (the suffix '-a' yields a collective/plural sense), so the relation to the base is clear.

Etymology

The word esoterica comes from the Greek esoterikos, which means 'inner' or 'for the inner circle'. It was used for ideas and objects kept for a small group, so today esoterica means things that only people with special knowledge can understand.