Exoteric - plus, At the Root of ‘Cubicle’

[Merriam-Webster]( WORD OF THE DAY October 14, 2019 exoteric [Audio pronunciation]( adjective | ek-suh-TAIR-ik Definition 1 a : suitable to be imparted to the public b : belonging to the outer or less initiate circle 2 : relating to the outside : [external]( Scroll down for more about exoteric TRENDING NOW: [kangaroo court]( [coup]( [quid pro quo]( [impeach]( [SEE ALL [>]]( PEOPLE ARE READING [At the Root of ‘Cubicle’]( [Registering the Politics of 'Register']( [The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 10/11/19]( [Minding 'Never mind' and 'Nevermind']( WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE [Where in the World? A Quiz]( Do you know what languages these words come from? [PLAY NOW]( Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try! [TAKE ME THERE [>]]( Did You Know? Exoteric derives from Latin exotericus, which is itself from Greek exōterikos, meaning "external," and ultimately from exō, meaning "outside." Exō has a number of offspring in English, including [exotic]( [exonerate]( [exorbitant]( and the combining form [exo-]( 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. Examples of EXOTERIC As a specialist writing for a broader audience, Annette faces the challenge of producing an exoteric synthesis of complex information. "Mainstream Judaism is primarily an exoteric, or outwardly oriented, religion, with a focus on reason, philosophy and ethics. Yet it has always had an [esoteric]( side, expressed in the [kabbalah]( and other mystical teachings." — Rodger Kamenetz, The San Francisco Chronicle, 9 Dec. 1990 Test Your Vocabulary What is the meaning of neoteric? [VIEW THE ANSWER [>]]( MORE WORD FUN: [WORD GAMES [>]]( [TRENDING NOW [>]]( [WORDS AT PLAY [>]]( FOLLOW US: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( SHARE: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [View this email in a web browser]( You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day. [Unsubscribe from Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day]( [Manage your subscription settings]( Merriam-Webster, Inc. 47 Federal Street, P.O. Box 281 Springfield, MA, 01102, USA [www.merriam-webster.com]( | [Privacy Policy]( © 2019 by Merriam-Webster, Inc.