Word of the Day: Esoteric

esoteric

es-o-ter-ic /  ĕs-ə-tĕr-ĭk

adjective

1. belonging to a select few

Greatness is not this wonderful, esoteric, elusive, god-like feature that only the special among us will ever taste.

Will Smith, 1968 –

2. designed or intended only for a group with specialized knowledge: difficult for the general public to understand

The grain of real knowledge is concealed in a vast deal of esoteric chaff.

Alfred Rupert Hall, 1920 – 2009

3. of special or unusual interest

Ideas do not need to be esoteric to be original or exciting.

Paul Rand, 1914-1996

4. private; confidential

We are, all four of us, blood relatives, and we speak a kind of esoteric, family language, a sort of semantic geometry in which the shortest distance between any two points is a fullish circle.

from ‘Franny and Zooey’ by J. D. Salinger, 1919-2010