hermetic, a. and n.
(həˈmɛtɪk)
[ad. med. or mod.L. hermetic-us, irreg. f. Hermes (Trismegistus): see Hermes 3. (Apparently formed in imitation of magnēs, magnētic-us.)]
A. adj.
1. (With capital initial.) Pertaining to Hermes Trismegistus, and the philosophical, theosophical, and other writings ascribed to him: see Hermes 3.
| 1676 Newton in Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men (1841) II. 397 If there should be any verity in the Hermetic writers. 1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. i. iv. §18. 321 There may very well be some Hermetic or Trismegistic books genuine, though all of them be not such. 1792 T. Taylor Proclus II. 29 His familiarity with the Hermetic Pan. |
2. transf. and fig. a. Hence, Relating to or dealing with occult science, esp. alchemy; magical; alchemical. hermetic art, hermetic philosophy, hermetic science: names for alchemy or chemistry. Also, unaffected by external influences, recondite.
| a 1637 B. Jonson Underwoods lxii. 77 With the Chimera of the Rosie Crosse, Their Charmes, their Characters, Hermetticke Rings. 1641 French Distill. v. (1651) 160, I extracted thence three drams of pure nitrous Hermetick Salt. 1651 Biggs New Disp. ¶65 But warm'd at the Hermetick fire. 1652 Ashmole Theat. Chem. Prol. 5 A Particular account of the Hermetique Science. 1663 Butler Hud. i. ii. 225 By his side a pouch he wore, Replete with strange hermetic powder. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 426 ¶2 Basilius Valentinus was a person who had arrived at the utmost Perfection in the Hermetick Art. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. 338 As the dream of the philosopher's stone induces dupes, under the more plausible delusion of the hermetic art, to neglect all rational means of improving their fortunes. 1839 Fraser's Mag. XIX. 447 The hermetic or philosophical fire..is a perfectly invisible and universal essence. 1954 Ann. Reg. 1953 204 From the published texts [of the Spanish agreement with America] might be inferred the existence of certain secret clauses, guardedly described as ‘hermetic’. 1965 Listener 2 Sept. 351/2 Poems ranging from the hermetic to the directly obscene. 1966 Ibid. 5 May 663/2 It is hermetic music and solely concerned with problems of formal design, structure, and instrumental texture. 1972 Times Lit. Suppl. 25 Aug. 984/3 The poetry which he had written between the wars was considered hermetic by some. |
b. hermetic seal, hermetic sealing: air tight closure of a vessel, esp. a glass vessel, by fusion, soldering, or welding; also applied in Surg. to a method of dressing wounds (see quot. 1886). Also fig. Hence hermetic for ‘hermetically sealed’.
| 1663 Jer. Taylor Fun. Serm. Ld. Primate Wks. 1831 IV. 53 Not nature, but grace and glory, with an hermetic seal, give us a new signature. 1705 C. Purshall Mech. Macrocosm 140 Boyle has observed Water to Dilate, and contract it self..by an Hermetic Glass Bubble. 1825 Bentham Indic. resp. Ld. Eldon 47 The same hand..has..as if by an hermetic seal, closed all such crannies. 1886 Syd. Soc. Lex., Hermetic sealing..Also, a mode of treatment of penetrating wounds of the chest or abdomen by closing them externally with collodion and scraps of lint. |
3. a. Pertaining to the god Hermes. b. Of or pertaining to a Herma: as hermetic column = Hermes 1 b.
| a 1891 J. R. Lowell Old Eng. Dramatists (1892) 17 They [sc. the Elizabethans] had the Hermetic gift of buckling wings to the feet of their verse. 1951 Auden Nones (1952) 60 In fake Hermetic uniforms. Ibid. 61 Keep well the Hermetic Decalogue. |
¶ Erron. for hermitic, q.v.
B. n.
1. One skilled in hermetic art or science; an alchemist or chemist.
| 1684 tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. ix. 319 Prepared Vitriol..alone to several Hermeticks may seem sufficient to furnish an Apothecaries shop. |
2. pl. Hermetic philosophy; alchemy.
| 1865 tr. Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame ii. vii. 95 Hermetics, that sophia of all sophias. |