hermetic

adjective her·met·ic \ (ˌ)hər-ˈme-tik \

variants: or less commonly hermetical play \(ˌ)hər-ˈme-ti-kəl\

|Updated on: 27 Jul 2018

Editor's Note: hermetic Has Origins in Greek Mythology

Definition of hermetic

1 often capitalized

a : of or relating to the mystical and alchemical writings or teachings arising in the first three centuries a.d. and attributed to Hermes Trismegistus

b : relating to or characterized by subjects that are mysterious and difficult to understand : relating to or characterized by occultism or abstruseness : recondite

a hermetic discussion

[from the belief that Hermes Trismegistus invented a magic seal to keep vessels airtight]

a : airtight

hermetic seal

b : impervious to external influence

trapped inside the hermetic military machine
—Jack Newfield

c : recluse, solitary

leads a hermetic life

—

hermetically

play \(ˌ)hər-ˈme-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

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Examples of hermetic in a Sentence

wrote hermetic poetry whose sole intended readership was himself

Recent Examples of hermetic from the Web

Instead, her life was reduced to a hermetic state of trying to avoid the symptoms of withdrawal, floating among apartments in New York, Berlin and Paris.

— New York Times, "Nan Goldin Survived an Overdose to Fight the Opioid Epidemic," 11 June 2018
That’s striking, especially since almost no one from the famously hermetic country actually visits the United States.

— alex ward, Vox, "Awkward: the upheld travel ban still applies to North Korea, too," 26 June 2018
The result, which opens today and is on view through October 7, is sober, austere, and almost hermetic from a distance.

— giovanna dunmall, Curbed, "Inside the 2018 Serpentine Pavilion 2018 designed by Frida Escobedo," 15 June 2018
Scene after scene bears the hermetic rigor of a rite, one that outsiders—or even other members of the household—may struggle to understand.

— anthony lane, The New Yorker, "“Hereditary” Delivers a New Kind of Horror," 7 June 2018
And this is one of the main achievements of the book: to unravel Tony's sometimes hermetic personality.

— jorge ebro, miamiherald, "This is why this book about Tony Perez is a must-read for fans, lovers of Cuban history | Miami Herald," 18 May 2018
Here, via the character whose chief flaw was her failure to be Rachel, was the brute cosmology of the TV sitcom laid bare: These shows, by hermetic design, tend to mistrust outsiders and to fetishize the familiar.

— megan garber, The Atlantic, "Sympathy for the Charlie," 26 Apr. 2018
Their terminus point is Flushing, N.Y., different from the traditional touristic Chinatown as a strictly functional community but, in its hermetic self-containment, a creature of the same forces.

— stephen phillips, San Francisco Chronicle, "‘Patriot Number One: American Dreams in Chinatown,’ by Lauren Hilgers," 29 Mar. 2018
Pence agreed, but members of the North Korean delegation — which included the North Korean hermetic leader’s younger sister Kim Yo Jong — backed out at the last minute.

— aamer madhani, USA TODAY, "Ivanka Trump ready to 'cheer' at Olympics. Is she ready to chat with North Korea, too?," 23 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hermetic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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."

Origin and Etymology of hermetic

Medieval Latin hermeticus, from Hermet-, Hermes Trismegistus

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1605

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Religion (Eastern and Other) Terms

Zen, antinomian, avatar, gnosticism, illuminati, ineffable, karma, koan, mantra

HERMETIC Defined for English Language Learners

hermetic

adjective

Definition of hermetic for English Language Learners

: closed tightly so that no air can go in or out

Medical Dictionary

hermetic

adjective her·met·ic \ (ˌ)hər-ˈmet-ik \

medical Definition of hermetic

: being airtight or impervious to air

—

hermetically

play \-i-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

Biographical Note for hermetic

Her*mes Tris*me*gis*tus play \ˈhər-(ˌ)mēz-ˌtris-mə-ˈjis-təs\ Greek mythological character. Hermes Trismegistus was identified by the Greeks with the Egyptian god Thoth. To him was ascribed authorship of various works on astrology, magic, alchemy, and medicine. It was also believed that he had invented a magic seal to keep vessels airtight, and from his name the adjective hermetic meaning airtight was derived.