Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

mystērĭum, ii, n., = μυστήριον, a secret service, secret rites, secret worship of a deity, divine mystery (class.; cf. arcanum).

  1. I. Lit., of the mysteries of Ceres, otherwise called sacra Eleusinia, Cic. N. D. 2, 24, 62; id. Leg. 2, 14, 35: mysteria Attica, Tert. Apol. 39: mysteria Cereris initiorum enuntiare, Just. 5, 1, 1: mysteria facere, to celebrate the sacred mysteries, Nep. Alcib. 3, 6.
    Also, the festival on which these mysteries were celebrated: in quem diem Romana incidant mysteria, the festival of the goddess Bona Dea, Cic. Att. 6, 1, 26; 5, 21, 14 sq.
  2. II. Transf., in gen., a secret thing, secret, mystery: rhetorum mysteria, Cic. Tusc. 4, 25, 55; id. de Or. 1, 47, 206: epistolae nostrae tantum habent mysteriorum, id. Att. 4, 18, 1: accipe congestas, mysteria frivolas nugas, Aus. Ep. 4, 67.
  3. III. (Eccl. Lat.)
    1. A. Something transcending mere human intelligence: mysterium evangelii, Vulg. Eph. 6, 19: mysterium sicut evangelizaverat per prophetas, id. Apoc. 10, 7: mysteria regni caelorum, id. Matt. 13, 11.
      1. 2. Of Antichrist, Vulg. Apoc. 17, 5: mysterium iniquitatis, id. 2 Thess. 2, 7.
    2. B. The Lord’s supper: mysterium celebrat, Ambros. in 1 Cor. 11, 27.