The term mystery was initially introduced in a 1350 poem by William of Shoreham, spelled as mysterye. During that period, various forms such as misteri, misteria, mystere, mystri, misterye, and many others were utilized; it wasn’t until the seventeenth century that our current spelling became standardized. The noun originates from Anglo-Norman misterie and Old French mistere, both carrying similar meanings but predominantly used in the context of incomprehensible religious concepts. These terms can be traced back to Latin mysterium and Ancient Greek mysterion, signifying secret rites and sacraments. The root of these words is mystes, meaning “initiated one”. Delving deeper into the etymology, mystes stems from the verb myein, which translates to “to close”, potentially referring to the eyes or lips of individuals initiated into clandestine religious groups. Interestingly, this root word has given rise to various meanings: myein also contributed to words like mute, associated with closed mouths, and myopia, linked to closed eyes.
