Meanings
comparative more telestic · superlative most telestic
- Of or pertaining to religious mysteries.
He paused, and took a drink. ‘Do you remember last fall, in Julian’s class, when we studied what Plato calls telestic madness? Bakcheia? Dionysiac frenzy?’
1992, Donna Tartt, The Secret History, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN1 more example
Orithya was the daughter of Erectheus, and the prieſteſs of Boreas; for each of the winds has a preſiding deity, which the teleſtic art, or the art pertaining to ſacred myſteries, religiouſly cultivates.
1804, Plato, “The Phædrus”, in Floyer Sydenham, Thomas Taylor, transl., The Works of Plato, viz. His Fifty-five Dialogues, and Twelve Epistles, Translated from the Greek; Nine of the Dialogues by the Late Floyer Sydenham, and the Remainder by Thomas Taylor: with Occasional Annotations on the Nine Dialogues Translated by Sydenham, and Copious Notes, by the Latter Translator; in which is Given the Substance of nearly all the Existing Greek Ms. Commentaries on the Philosophy of Plato, and a Considerable Portion of such as are already Published. In Five Volumes, volume I, London: Printed for Thomas Taylor, by R. Wilks, Chancery-Lane; and sold by E. Jeffery, and R. E. Evans, Pall-Mall, page 293, footnote 2 - Of or pertaining to a hierophant.
Origin
- Ancient Greekτελεστικός
- Englishtelestic
From Ancient Greek τελεστικός (telestikós), from τέλος (télos, “mystery religion”).
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Cite this entry
telestic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/telestic
“telestic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/telestic. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “telestic,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/telestic.
Source: telestic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.