摘要：“Esoteric”源自17世纪英语，来自希腊语 esōterikos（内在的、秘密的），由 esō（内部）衍生。最初指哲学或宗教中仅限于内部成员的秘密教义，后演变为形容词，形容深奥、晦涩或只有少数人能理解的事物。
esoteric
英 [ˌesə'terɪk] 美 [ˌesə'terɪk]
adj.秘传的；神秘的；难懂的
◉词源
“Esoteric”源自17世纪英语，来自希腊语 esōterikos（内在的、秘密的），由 esō（内部）衍生。最初指哲学或宗教中仅限于内部成员的秘密教义，后演变为形容词，形容深奥、晦涩或只有少数人能理解的事物。
◉外刊例句
① 《经济学人》（The Economist），2024年10月5日
The professor’s lecture was too esoteric for most students.
教授的讲座对大多数学生来说过于深奥。
② 《纽约时报》（The New York Times），2023年11月12日
The artist’s esoteric symbolism puzzled critics.
艺术家晦涩的象征主义让评论家困惑。
③ 《卫报》（The Guardian），2025年1月8日
The cult’s esoteric rituals remained a mystery to outsiders.
该教派的秘密仪式对外人来说依然是个谜。
◉经典名著
① 《哈姆雷特》（Hamlet），威廉·莎士比亚（William Shakespeare），约1600年
His thoughts were esoteric, beyond our grasp.
他的思想深奥，超出了我们的理解。
② 《简·爱》（Jane Eyre），夏洛蒂·勃朗特（Charlotte Brontë），1847年
Her beliefs held an esoteric charm.
她的信仰带有一种神秘的魅力。
◉Usage Examples
(1) I asked, but he said he couldn't tell me the recipe because it was esoteric.
(2) Certain kinds of armor are made according to arcane and esoteric methods that involve weaving magic into the substance of the armor.
(3) There are no esoteric formulas or secret states of mind that produce good designs effortlessly.
(4) Eventual consistency is not some esoteric property of extreme distributed systems.
(1) 我问了，但是他说他不能告诉我那药方，因为那是秘传的。
(2) 有一些护甲在制造的过程中用秘传的方法和神秘的技艺将魔法编织在护甲之上。
(3) 没有任何奥妙的公式或神秘的心境可毫不费力地提出好的设计方案。
(4) 最终一致性不是那些被过度分布的系统中存在的晦涩难懂的属性。
◉Usage Notes
Pssst... do you know the secret handshake? If you haven't been brought into the inner circle of those with special knowledge, esoteric things will remain a mystery to you.
In the olden days, achieving esoteric knowledge meant getting initiated into the mystical arts, learning secrets unknown to regular folks. Now when a subject is called esoteric it's usually something not so mystical but still hard to penetrate: financial accounting might seem esoteric for people who get easily stumped filling out their tax forms. Americans might find the sport of cricket to be esoteric, but the rules of baseball can be just as impenetrable to outsiders. The infield fly rule? Totally esoteric.
◉柯林斯词典
1. [ADJ-GRADED 能被表示程度的副词或介词词组修饰的形容词]深奥的；难懂的；常人难以理解的 If you describe something as esoteric, you mean it is known, understood, or appreciated by only a small number of people. [FORMAL 正式]
...esoteric knowledge.
深奥的知识
...a spoiled aristocrat with pretentious airs and esoteric tastes.
自命不凡、品位刁钻且被惯坏了的贵族成员
来源：学无用的英语
