A general research question about the word Esoteric.

[Gehanna]

For those of you who use this word, what do you mean by it when you use it?
I am not asking to be told what the meaning of the word is. I am asking instead what your meaning is when you use it.

Thanks in advance,
Gehanna

[Penelope]

My personal interpretation of the word esoteric is that it's something only I, and maybe a few people who know me very well, can see and understand.

[three seven]

I'd use it in exactly the same way as Poppy (occasionally substituting 'people who know me well' for 'colleagues').

[CaoPaux]

I use it in the sense that “it” is something only a few would understand (although I’m not necessarily one of them).

[Gehanna]

LMAO CaoPaux!!

[reph]

I call an item of knowledge esoteric if it isn't widely known because it belongs to an area of advanced study in a specialized field. Some bit of baseball trivia that only a few people know, or a procedure known in some line of work that not many people practice, like applying gold leaf, might be esoteric by a dictionary definition (I haven't looked), but I wouldn't naturally use the word there. I'm more inclined to use it for academic knowledge.

Esoteric is just this side of occult.

[Richard]

It's like the more advanced version of trivia - secrets knowledge known only to a small number of people.

[Gehanna]

It is good to hear these explanations. I live in a town that maintains a firm hold on fundamentalism. It is a town where most anything construed as being esoteric would also be considered negatively occult and therefore inappropriate.

Taking into consideration the definition and opinions provided here, I do not suppose my knowledge nor my interests to be esoteric rather than perhaps unacceptable.

I apologize for the seemingly egocentric nature of my posts. I do it based on need for perspective beyond what is available around me.

Sincerely,
Gehanna

[veinglory]

I would say it means something obscure but meaningful rather than trivial