different between intellectual vs esoteric
intellectual
English
Alternative forms
- intellectuall (obsolete)
Etymology
From Old French intellectuel, from Latin intellectualis
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /??nt??l?k(t)???l/
Adjective
intellectual (comparative more intellectual, superlative most intellectual)
- Pertaining to, or performed by, the intellect; mental or cognitive.
- 1920, Harold Monro, Preface to s:The year's at the spring; an anthology of recent poetry
- Pleasure is various, but it cannot exist where the emotions or the imagination have not been powerfully stirred. Whether it be called sensual or intellectual, pleasure cannot be willed
- 1920, Harold Monro, Preface to s:The year's at the spring; an anthology of recent poetry
- Endowed with intellect; having a keen sense of understanding; having the capacity for higher forms of knowledge or thought; characterized by intelligence or cleverness
- 1894, Edgar Wilson Nye, Nye's History of the USA Chapter 30
- The Fenimore Cooper Indian is no doubt a brave and highly intellectual person, educated abroad, refined and cultivated by foreign travel, graceful in the grub dance or scalp walk-around, yet tender-hearted as a girl, walking by night fifty-seven miles in a single evening to warn his white friends of danger.
- 1894, Edgar Wilson Nye, Nye's History of the USA Chapter 30
- Suitable for exercising one's intellect; perceived by the intellect
- 1916, Joseph McCabe, The Tyranny of Shams Chapter IX
- A good deal of nonsense is written about sport and entertainment. Many of us can, with pleasant ease, suspend a severely intellectual task for a few hours to witness a first-class football match.
- Relating to the understanding; treating of the mind.
- (archaic, poetic) Spiritual.
- 1805, William Wordsworth, The Prelude, Book II, lines 331-334 (eds. Jonathan Wordsworth, M. H. Abrams, & Stephen Gill, published by W. W. Norton & Company, 1979):
- I deem not profitless those fleeting moods / Of shadowy exultation; not for this, / That they are kindred to our purer mind / And intellectual life […]
- 1805, William Wordsworth, The Prelude, Book II, lines 331-334 (eds. Jonathan Wordsworth, M. H. Abrams, & Stephen Gill, published by W. W. Norton & Company, 1979):
Antonyms
- nonintellectual
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Noun
intellectual (plural intellectuals)
- An intelligent, learned person, especially one who discourses about learned matters.
- Synonym: highbrow
- Coordinate terms: egghead, nerd, geek
- 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, pp. 20–21:
- ‘You know I hate intellectuals.’
‘You mean you hate people who are cleverer than you are.’
‘Yes. I suppose that's why I like you so much, Tom.’
- ‘You know I hate intellectuals.’
- (archaic) The intellect or understanding; mental powers or faculties.
- 1646, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, London: Edw. Dod & Nath. Ekins, 1650, Book I, Chapter 1, p. 2,[1]
- […] although their intellectuals had not failed in the theory of truth, yet did the inservient and brutall faculties control the suggestion of reason […]
- 1646, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, London: Edw. Dod & Nath. Ekins, 1650, Book I, Chapter 1, p. 2,[1]
Derived terms
- public intellectual
Translations
See also
- intelligentsia
References
- intellectual in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- "intellectual" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 169.
intellectual From the web:
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esoteric
English
Alternative forms
- esoterick (obsolete)
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ?????????? (es?terikós, “belonging to an inner circle”), from ??????? (es?tér?, “further inside”), comparative of ??? (és?, “within”), from ?? (es), ??? (eis, “into”) (esoteric originally referred to the secret teachings of Greek philosophers, versus public or exoteric ones).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /?i?s.???t??.?k/
- (US) IPA(key): /??s.??t??.?k/, /??s.o??t??.?k/, enPR: ?s?t?r'?k, ?s?t?r'?k
- Rhymes: -?r?k
Adjective
esoteric (comparative more esoteric, superlative most esoteric)
- Intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest, or an enlightened inner circle.
- Synonyms: arcane, recondite
- Having to do with concepts that are highly theoretical and without obvious practical application; often with mystical or religious connotations.
- 1975, Saul Bellow, Humboldt's Gift [Avon ed., 1976, p. 278]:
- When he spoke to me of esoteric mysteries I wanted to say to him,"Don't give me that spiritual hokum, friend!"
- Synonym: cerebral
- 1975, Saul Bellow, Humboldt's Gift [Avon ed., 1976, p. 278]:
- Confidential; private.
- Synonym: secretive
Antonyms
- exoteric
Related terms
Translations
See also
- exoterism
- metaphysical
- occult
- paranormal
- supernatural
- theoretical
Noun
esoteric (plural esoterics)
- An esoteric doctrine or treatise; esoteric philosophy.
- One who believes, or is an initiate, in esoteric doctrines or rites.
Anagrams
- coteries
esoteric From the web:
- what esoteric means
- what's esoteric knowledge
- what's esoterica mean
- esotericism meaning
- what's esoteric test
- esoteric what does it mean
- esoteric what is the meaning of life
- esoteric what is the definition
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