- Meanings and origin
- Etymological origin
- Famous enigmatic objects
- The sphinx
- The Mona Lisa
- Synonyms
- Antonyms
- Usage examples
- References
The term enigmatic, or enigmatic in its feminine form, is an adjective that designates something that can hardly be understood, that is indecipherable or with a hidden meaning. That is, it is provided with mystery or enigma.
It is sometimes used in reference to texts or questions that have to do with the supernatural, since they are dark, malicious or inexplicable events. Something enigmatic is also something secret, the meaning of which is known by one or more people, but remains hidden from the rest.
Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is one of the most enigmatic paintings in history. Source: pixabay.com.
In the field of science, the enigmatic nature of a fact is talked about when it is explained through different theories, or when there is still no agreement in the scientific community about its explanation or origin. For example, the size of the universe or where life comes from on Earth.
Meanings and origin
In addition to the above, enigmatic is understood to be everything that has qualities that are not evident and that cause curiosity in those who observe or study it. Any object that has this condition attracts attention and is valued for not being able to be discovered at all.
Many times ancient texts or works of art are enigmatic, that is, they have enigmas even for specialists in the field. In this context, they are classified as enigmatic because they contain elements whose meaning is ambiguous, which can express several concepts at the same time or which play with the viewer's perception.
Etymological origin
The word enigmatic is a qualifier derived from the word "enigma." These come from the Latin aenigmatĭcus and aenigma, which in turn have their roots in ancient Greek.
Famous enigmatic objects
The sphinx
Perhaps one of the most famous enigmatic beings in Greek literature and culture is the sphinx, related since millennia by Hesiod, Apollodorus, among others.
The sphinx is described as a mythological creature with the face and torso of a woman, the body of a lion, and wings. It comes, according to some versions, from Ethiopia, but settled on a hill outside the city of Thebes.
Its enigmatic character comes not only from its appearance, but mainly from the riddle or enigma that it posed to travelers and residents. If they weren't able to answer truthfully, it devoured them.
The enigma of the sphinx was more or less the following: "What animal walks the Earth on 4 legs, later on 2 and, later on 3 and becomes weaker as it has more legs?".
No one could answer this riddle until Oedipus, son of King Laius, managed to answer that the animal was human and its legs represented the different stages of life. After the enigmatic question has been solved, the sphinx commits suicide.
Oedipus describes the ability of the sphinx as "inherited from the muses", since they were the deities capable of inspiring puns and the beautiful use of language.
The Mona Lisa
Another famous object in culture mainly for being enigmatic is the painting "Mona Lisa" or "Gioconda", by Leonardo Da Vinci. This piece of art has represented an enigma for scholars and spectators of different centuries, in attention to the mystery of the identity of the model, to the landscape that is represented in the background and because of her hidden smile.
The facial expression of the female figure that appears in the work is enigmatic due to its neutrality and serenity, at the same time that it outlines a smiling gesture as if it were keeping a secret.
Synonyms
- Mysterious.
- Indecipherable.
- Hidden.
- Dark.
- Ambiguous.
- Secret.
- Incomprehensible.
- Arcane.
- Hermetic.
- Inscrutable.
- Unknowable.
Antonyms
- Known.
- Common.
- Normal.
- Evident.
- Obvious.
Usage examples
- The language used by Antonio in his text is enigmatic, I can't understand it.
- The enigmatic tales of Poe are my favorites.
- Adriana has an enigmatic behavior towards me, I don't know what she wants.
- Shakespeare's Sonnets are dedicated to an enigmatic gentleman: Mr. WH
- The universe is made up mostly of the enigmatic “dark matter”.
References
- Enigmatic. (2019). Spain: Wiktionary. The dictionary in Castilian free content. Recovered from: wiktionary.org.
- Enigmatic. (2017). Spain: DIRAE. Recovered from: es.
- Enigmatic - Enigmatic. (2019). Spain: Easy Dictionary. Recovered from: org.
- Enigmatic. (2019). (N / A): WordReference.com. Recovered from: wordreference.com.
- Meaning of Enigma. (2019). (N / A): Meanings. Recovered from: significados.com.