German

Noun

Mysterium m ‎(genitive Mysteriums, plural Mysterien)

1. mystery, enigma

English

Noun

mysterium ‎(plural mysteria)

1. (chemistry, alchemy, now historical) Any of various unknown elements thought to make up existing forms of matter, or a substance seen as an elemental or pure form of something else.
   • 2006, Philip Ball, The Devil's Doctor, Arrow 2007, p. 263:

     There are many such mysteria: milk is a mysterium of cheese and butter, and cheese in turn a mysterium of maggots, which were thought to form spontaneously in rotting food.

2. (astronomy, now historical) The hypothetical source of a galactic radio emission at 1665 megahertz (later identified as due to hydroxyl radicals in interstellar space).

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μυστήριον ‎(mustḗrion).

Noun

mystērium n ‎(genitive mystēriī); second declension

1. mystery (secret rite or worship)
2. secret

Inflection

Second declension.

Related terms

• mysterius

Descendants

• French: mystère
• Spanish: misterio

References

• mysterium in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• mysterium in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• MYSTERIUM in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μυστήριον ‎(mustḗrion), via Latin mysterium.

Noun

mysterium n ‎(definite singular mysteriet, indefinite plural mysterier, definite plural mysteria or mysteriene)

1. a mystery

References

• “mysterium” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin.

Noun

mysterium n ‎(definite singular mysteriet, indefinite plural mysterium, definite plural mysteria)

1. mystery (something unexplainable)

   Korleis steinen hamna her er eit mysterium.

   How the rock got here is a mystery.

References

• “mysterium” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Swedish

Etymology

From Latin mysterium, cognate with English mystery and German Mysterium.

Noun

mysterium n

1. a mystery

Declension

Synonyms

• mystär

Related terms

• mysteriedrama
• mysteriereligion
• mysteriespel
• mysteriös
• mysticism
• mystifiera
• mystifiering
• mystifik
• mystifikation
• mystik
• mystiker
• mystisk
• mystär
• profanmysterium
• skolmysterium
• tankemysterium

References

• mysterium in Svenska Akademiens Ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)
• mysterium in Svenska Akademiens ordbok online.