Word of the Day

: October 24, 2008

exoteric

play

adjective ek-suh-TAIR-ik

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What It Means

1 : suitable to be imparted to the public

2 : belonging to the outer or less initiate circle

3 : external

exoteric in Context

As specialist writing for a broader audience, Annette faces the challenge of producing an exoteric synthesis of complex information.

Did You Know?

"Exoteric" derives from Latin "exōtericus," which is itself from Greek "exoterikos," meaning "external,” and ultimately from “exo," meaning "outside." "Exō" has a number of offspring in English, including "exotic," "exonerate," "exorbitant," and the combining form “exō-” or “ex-” (as in "exoskeleton" and "exobiology"). The antonym of “exoteric” is "esoteric," meaning "designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone”; it descends from the Greek word for "within," "esō."