esoteric

adjective es·o·ter·ic \ˌe-sə-ˈter-ik, -ˈte-rik\

: only taught to or understood by members of a special group : hard to understand

: limited to a small number of people

Full Definition of ESOTERIC

a : designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone <a body of esoteric legal doctrine — B. N. Cardozo>

b : requiring or exhibiting knowledge that is restricted to a small group <esoteric terminology>; broadly : difficult to understand <esoteric subjects>

a : limited to a small circle <engaging in esoteric pursuits>

b : private, confidential <an esoteric purpose>

: of special, rare, or unusual interest <esoteric building materials>

— es·o·ter·i·cal·ly \-i-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

See esoteric defined for English-language learners

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Examples of ESOTERIC

A kahuna is a master of Hawaiian esoteric practices. Recently, Mariko Gordon and Hugh Cosman engaged a kahuna to bless their house. … —Alec Wilkinson, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2002
… he listens to a group of Malaysians playing reedy, plangent music on some esoteric kind of wind instrument. —Penelope Lively, City of the Mind, 1991
There was a new mall, an excellent bookstore with esoteric literary and policy journals, some restaurants with cosmopolitan menus, and engaging real estate advertisements. —Robert D. Kaplan, An Empire Wilderness, 1988
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Origin of ESOTERIC

Late Latin esotericus, from Greek esōterikos, from esōterō, comparative of eisō, esō within, from eis into; akin to Greek en in — more at in

First Known Use: circa 1660