gnostic means of, or relating to, intellectual or spiritual knowledge. It carries an Arena rating of 1655, earned across 13 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, gnostic ranks #1,181 of 42,747 for Qualifying, #1,543 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #1,567 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #1,990 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
gnostic is pronounced /ˈnɒstɪk/.
Why “gnostic” is a great word
Possessing or seeking esoteric spiritual knowledge, especially of liberation from a flawed material world. From Ancient Greek γνωστικός (gnōstikós, 'relating to knowledge or knowing'), from the root of γιγνώσκω (gignṓskō, 'to come to know, to learn') + -τικός (-tĭkós, adjective suffix), first attested in English in the 1580s. Unlike “agnostic,” which professes a principled not-knowing, or “dogmatic,” which asserts an orthodox creed, “gnostic” is the turn inward, a conviction that the truest light is kindled within. It is the murmur in the catacomb, the cipher in the forbidden text, and the cold, clear certainty that the divine spark is buried deep within the self—a lonely and magnificent heresy.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek γνωστικός (gnōstikós, “relating to knowledge or knowing”), from the root of verb γιγνώσκω (gignṓskō, “to come to know, to learn”) + -τῐκός (-tĭkós) or from γνῶσις (gnôsis, “knowledge, knowing”) + -κός (-kós, adjective suffix), depending upon the analysis.
adj
- Of, or relating to, intellectual or spiritual knowledge
- Of, or relating to Gnosticism
- knowing; wise; shrewde.g.“I said you were a d—d gnostic fellow.” — 1823 December 23 (indicated as 1824), [Walter Scott], St Ronan’s Well. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London:
noun
- A believer in Gnosticism
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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