abstruse

the word 'abstruse' originates from the latin 'abstrusus', the past participle of 'abstrudere', meaning "to conceal, to hide away". this verb is composed of 'abs-' (away) and 'trudere' (to push). the literal sense is "pushed away, concealed". this physical meaning evolved metaphorically in english to describe knowledge or ideas that are "pushed away" from easy comprehension, hence difficult to grasp or profoundly obscure. it entered english in the late 16th century, retaining its core sense of intellectual remoteness.

Structure: abs (away) + truse (to push) abs- is a latin prefix meaning "away, from". -truse is from the latin verb 'trudere', meaning "to push, to thrust".