hermetic

/hə(ɹ)ˈmɛtɪk/

hermetic adjective: pertaining to the ancient Greek Olympian god Hermes.

Adjective (1)

hermetic (comparative more hermetic, superlative most hermetic)

(Greek, capitalized) Pertaining to the ancient Greek Olympian god Hermes.
(capitalized) Pertaining to Hermes Trismegistus or the writings attributed to him.
(capitalized) One who follows/worships Hermes.
- "As above, so below" is an axiom from Hermetic mysticism, and in this Hermetic vision of physiology the tongue is connected through the spinal column to the penis.1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 16
Pertaining to alchemy or occult practices; magical, alchemical.
- Newton subscribed to the hermetic notion that the true knowledge of the universe had been earlier revealed by God to the ancients, the prisci theologi.1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic
Hermetically sealed.
Isolated, away from outside influence.
- In other words, it is a mistake to regard this or any film text 'as if it were merely hermetic', or an isolated island.2010, Paul Bowman, Theorizing Bruce Lee: Film-fantasy-fighting-philosophy, →ISBN, page 106
- Increasingly isolated in the military's hermetic world, as winter stretched endlessly onward, Gamelin was finally overcome by an insidious complacency in the adequacy of his fellow generals, their British counterparts and his own troops.2013, Martin S. Alexander, “Fighting to the last Frenchman”, in Joel Blatt, editor, The French Defeat Of 1940: Reassessments, →ISBN, page 325

Adjective (2) capitalized: Hermetic

Hermetic (comparative more Hermetic, superlative most Hermetic)

Alternative letter-case form of hermetic.
- It is a doctrine taught in the ancient Hermetic philosophy, and the esoteric science of the East, that there is a Universal Mind. It is enough for our present purpose to say, that this Mind connects all individual minds in a state of sympathy.1885, Warren Felt Evans, The Primitive Mind-cure, page 83
- As I am not drawing here on the font of imagination to refresh that of fact and experience, I do not suggest that the Tarot set the example of expressing Secret Doctrine in pictures and that it was followed by Hermetic writers; but it is noticeable that it is perhaps the earliest example of this...1910, Arthur Edward Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, part II

Forms of hermetic

comparative	more hermetic
superlative	most hermetic
alternative form	Hermetic
alternative form	hermetical
comparative	more Hermetic
superlative	most Hermetic
alternative form (obsolete)	hermetick

Origin of hermetic

From Medieval Latin hermeticus, irregular derivation of Hermes Trismegistus, the god and mythological alchemist, said to possess a magic ability to seal treasure chests so that nothing could access their contents.

Words formed from hermetic

Phrases with hermetic

hermetic seals

Words that rhyme with hermetic

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about hermetic

What does hermetic mean?: Hermetic means pertaining to the ancient Greek Olympian god Hermes.
What part of speech is hermetic?: Hermetic is an adjective.
How do you pronounce hermetic?: Hermetic is pronounced /hə(ɹ)ˈmɛtɪk/.

Words near hermetic in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: hermetic (page history and authors); Hermetic (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-hermetic.wav.

Cite this entry: “hermetic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hermetic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.