{"id":4503,"date":"2019-02-01T12:39:54","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T07:09:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/?p=4503"},"modified":"2019-02-01T12:39:54","modified_gmt":"2019-02-01T07:09:54","slug":"thats-the-word-for-it-ineffable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/2019\/02\/01\/thats-the-word-for-it-ineffable\/","title":{"rendered":"That’s the Word for It- Ineffable"},"content":{"rendered":"
Here’s a\u00a0new column every week where we talk about one word that catches our fancy.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
\n

Ineffable is an adjective that deals with ideas that shouldn’t be expressed. This includes uttering the name of gods such as the name of God in Judaism (YHWH) and arch-villains like\u00a0Lord Voldemort of the Harry Potter series and also extends to principles, arguments and terminology that are plain senseless and illogical.<\/p>\n

The word carries a mystical and theological connotation and seems to be a favorite among poets and literati. Here are some examples of the way the word has been used in literature:<\/p>\n

“God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable<\/strong> game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players [i.e. everybody], to being involved in an obscure and complex variant of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won’t tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.”
\n\u2014 Terry Pratchett (Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch<\/em>)<\/p>\n

“You have to be an artist and a madman, a creature of infinite melancholy, with a bubble of hot poison in your loins and a super-voluptuous flame permanently aglow in your subtle spine (oh, how you have to cringe and hide!), in order to discern at once, by ineffable<\/strong> signs\u2015the slightly feline outline of a cheekbone, the slenderness of a downy limbs, and other indices which despair and shame and tears of tenderness forbid me to tabulate\u2015the little deadly demon among the wholesome children; she stands unrecognized by them and unconscious herself of her fantastic power.”
\n\u2014 Vladimir Nabokov (Lolita<\/em>)<\/p>\n

“Both light and shadow are the dance of Love.
\nLove has no cause, it is the astrolabe of God’s secrets.
\nLover and loving are inseparable and timeless.
\nAlthough I may try to describe love,
\nwhen I experience it, I am speechless.
\nAlthough I may try to write about love, I am rendered helpless.
\nMy pen breaks, and the paper slips away
\nat the ineffable<\/strong> place where lover loving and loved are one.
\nEvery moment is made glorious by the light of Love.”
\n\u2014 Rumi<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s a\u00a0new column every week where we talk about one word that catches our fancy. Ineffable is an adjective that deals with ideas that shouldn’t be expressed. This includes uttering the name of gods such as the name of God in Judaism (YHWH) and arch-villains like\u00a0Lord Voldemort of the Harry Potter series and also extends … Continue reading “That’s the Word for It- Ineffable”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[251],"tags":[252],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7vAZr-1aD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4944,"url":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/2020\/04\/29\/thats-the-word-for-it-hierophant\/","url_meta":{"origin":4503,"position":0},"title":"That's the Word For It: Hierophant","date":"April 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Hierophants were priests of the ancient Greek city of Eleusis who performed sacred rites. Now a hierophant is an advocate or spokesperson. Here are some instances of the word used in books: \u201cThe Hierophant becomes a touchstone for many, either representing an artificial belief system (like religion or a work\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "That's the word for it"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Hierophant.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4676,"url":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/31\/thats-the-word-for-it-excuplate\/","url_meta":{"origin":4503,"position":1},"title":"That\u2019s the Word For it: Excuplate","date":"July 31, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Exculpate is a word that is trending right now. This word traces back to the Latin culpa where the meaning of blame is embedded. Some literary examples of this word... \"Indeed, isn\u2019t the whole business of ascribing responsibility kind of a cop-out? We want to blame an individual so that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "That's the word for it"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/exculpate-1-e1564636121752.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4506,"url":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/2019\/02\/08\/thats-the-word-for-it-quid-pro-quo\/","url_meta":{"origin":4503,"position":2},"title":"That's the Word for It - Quid Pro Quo","date":"February 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Quid pro quo is a Latin phrase and is most similar to the phrases 'give and take' and 'tit for tat'. Initially, in the 1500s, the phrase implied substitution such as the substitution of one medicine for the other (the phrase has originally been used in late medieval pharmaceutical compilations).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "That's the word for it"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/instascribe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/quid-pro-quo.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4510,"url":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/2019\/02\/22\/thats-the-word-for-it-ebullient\/","url_meta":{"origin":4503,"position":3},"title":"That's the Word for It - Ebullient","date":"February 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"An ebullient person is someone who is bubbling with excitement. This adjective originates from the Latin bullire,\u00a0which means to bubble out. Ebullient also has an archaic meaning which refers to the roiling of a boiling liquid. Here are some examples of the word found in literature: \u201cTo the Kathakali Man\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "That's the word for it"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/instascribe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/ebullient.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4709,"url":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/2019\/08\/21\/thats-the-word-for-it-fecundity\/","url_meta":{"origin":4503,"position":4},"title":"That\u2019s the Word For it: Fecundity","date":"August 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Fecundity has to do with fertility not just literally but in a figurative sense as well. So it could refer to a lush valley and equally so to the rich vocabulary in a story. Biologically speaking, fecundity refers to the potential of having offspring as opposed to fertility which refers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "That's the word for it"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/fecundity.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4886,"url":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/2020\/02\/13\/thats-the-word-for-it-apricity\/","url_meta":{"origin":4503,"position":5},"title":"That's the Word for It: Apricity","date":"February 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Apricity is a word that the Pothi.com team stumbled upon on Twitter. It's a rare word, having appeared in 1623 when Henry Cockeram recorded or invented it it for his dictionary. The word never really took off. Here are some instances of this word used in literature: Apricity (n.) the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "That's the word for it"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/apricity.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4503"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4503"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4504,"href":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4503\/revisions\/4504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}