mysteriarch

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin mystēriarchēs (“one who presides over Christian sacraments”), from Ancient Greek μυστηριάρχης (mustēriárkhēs, “one who rules over religious mysteries”), from μυστήριον (mustḗrion) +‎ -άρχης (-árkhēs), corresponding to mystery +‎ -arch.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mɪsˈtɪəɹiˌɑː(ɹ)k/

Noun

mysteriarch (plural mysteriarchs)

  1. (obsolete outside of fantasy) One who rules over mysteries.
    • 1899, Richard Le Gallienne, Young Lives‎[1]:
      It cannot be said that the place ever adequately gratified the sense of mystery it excited; but, after all, to excite the sense of mystery is perhaps better than to gratify it, and, considering its poor material, this room was quite a clever old mysteriarch.
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