hermetic
adjective
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Hermetic Has Origins in Greek Mythology
Hermetic derives from Greek via the Medieval Latin word hermeticus. When it first entered English in the early 17th century, hermetic was associated with writings attributed to Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom. Thoth, whom the Greeks called Hermes Trismegistus ("thrice-great Hermes"), was believed to be the author of a number of mystical, philosophical, and alchemistic works. The obscure subject matter of these works may have made them difficult to wade through, for soon English speakers were also applying hermetic to things that were beyond ordinary human comprehension. Additionally, Hermes Trismegistus was said to have invented a magic seal that could keep vessels airtight. Hermetic thus came to mean "airtight," both literally and figuratively. These days, it can also sometimes mean "solitary."
Examples of hermetic in a Sentence
Scott Tobias, Vulture, 7 June 2025
Homes in my neighborhood have Knicks flags on their stoops swaying in the wind; hermetic friends have dusted off their Stephon Marbury and Amar’e Stoudemire jerseys and come through to stress over Thibs’ refusal to use his bench.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 22 May 2025
In this episode, the ladies finally move out of their hermetic bubble of giggles and gossip and start trying to engage more with their surroundings.
—Noel Murray, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2025
This isn’t a hermetic kind of meditation, one in which outer havoc is kept at bay.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hermetic
Cite this Entry
“Hermetic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hermetic. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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