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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Esoteric \Es`o*ter"ic\ ([e^]s`[-o]*t[e^]"[i^]k), a. [Gr.
'eswteriko`s, fr. 'esw`teros inner, interior, comp. fr. 'e`sw
in, within, fr. 'es, e'is, into, fr. 'en in. See {In}.]
1. Designed for, and understood by, the specially initiated
alone; not communicated, or not intelligible, to the
general body of followers; private; interior; acroamatic;
-- said of discussions of technical topics and of the
private and more recondite instructions and doctrines of
philosophers. Opposed to {exoteric}.
[1913 Webster]

Enough if every age produce two or three critics of
this esoteric class, with here and there a reader to
understand them. --De Quincey.
[1913 Webster]

2. Marked by secrecy or privacy; private; select;
confidential; as, an esoteric purpose; an esoteric
meeting.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]


Esoteric \Es`o*ter"ic\, n. (Philos.)
(a) An esoteric doctrine or treatise; esoteric philosophy;
esoterics.
(b) One who believes, or is an initiate, in esoteric
doctrines or rites.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]