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