mystery

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. One that is not fully understood or that baffles or eludes the understanding; an enigma: How he got in is a mystery.
2. n. One whose identity is unknown and who arouses curiosity: The woman in the photograph is a mystery.
3. n. A mysterious character or quality: a landscape with mystery and charm.
4. n. A work of fiction, a drama, or a film dealing with a puzzling crime.
5. n. The skills, lore, or practices that are peculiar to a particular activity or group and are regarded as the special province of initiates. Often used in the plural: the mysteries of Freemasonry; the mysteries of cooking game.
6. n. A religious truth that is incomprehensible to reason and knowable only through divine revelation.
7. n. An incident from the life of Jesus, especially the Incarnation, Passion, Crucifixion, or Resurrection, of particular importance for redemption.
8. n. One of the 15 incidents from the lives of Jesus or the Blessed Virgin Mary, such as the Annunciation or the Ascension, serving in Roman Catholicism as the subject of meditation during recitation of the rosary.
9. n. One of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
10. n. The consecrated elements of the Eucharist.
11. n. A religious cult practicing secret rites to which only initiates are admitted.
12. n. A secret rite of such a cult.
13. n. Archaic A trade or an occupation.
14. n. Archaic A guild, as of merchants or artisans.
15. n. A mystery play.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. plural In ancient religions, rites known to and practised by certain initiated persons only, consisting of purifications, sacrificial offerings, processions, songs, dances, dramatic performances, and the like: as, the Eleusinian mysteries.
2. n. In the Christian Church, especially in the early church and in the Greek Church, a sacrament. This name originally had reference partly to the nature of a sacrament itself as concealing a spiritual reality under external form and matter, and partly to the fact that no catechumen was instructed in the doctrine of the sacraments (except partially as to baptism) or admitted to be present at their administration except through baptism as an initiation.
3. n. plural The consecrated elements in the eucharist; in the singular, the eucharist.
4. n. Any religious doctrine or body of doctrines that seems above human comprehension.
5. n. They counte as Fables the holie misteries of Christian Religion.
6. n. In general, a fact, matter, or phenomenon of which the meaning, explanation, or cause is not known, and which awakens curiosity or inspires awe; something that is inexplicable; an enigmatic secret.
7. n. A form of dramatic composition much in vogue in the middle ages, and still played in some parts of Europe in a modified form, the characters and events of which were drawn from sacred history.
8. n. Occupation; trade; office; profession; calling; art; craft.

Wiktionary

1. n. Something secret or unexplainable; unknown.
2. n. Someone or thing with an obscure or puzzling nature.
3. n. Catholicism A particular event or series of events in the life of Christ.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A profound secret; something wholly unknown, or something kept cautiously concealed, and therefore exciting curiosity or wonder; something which has not been or can not be explained; hence, specifically, that which is beyond human comprehension.
2. n. A kind of secret religious celebration, to which none were admitted except those who had been initiated by certain preparatory ceremonies; -- usually plural.
3. n. The consecrated elements in the eucharist.
4. n. Anything artfully made difficult; an enigma.
5. n. A trade; a handicraft; hence, any business with which one is usually occupied.
6. n. A dramatic representation of a Scriptural subject, often some event in the life of Christ; a dramatic composition of this character.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
2. n. a story about a crime (usually murder) presented as a novel or play or movie