We explain what the ineffable is, its various meanings, how it is expressed and the origin of the term. Also, famous phrases about the ineffable.
What is the ineffable?
The ineffable is that which cannot be spoken about, which cannot be said or cannot be explained with words. We generally use it to refer to something that is too subtle, abstract or diffuse, or to experiences too overwhelming or shocking, which are reluctant to be expressed with the language.
This term comes from the Latin ineffabilis, modern voice of the adjective inexfabilis, which is derived from the prefixes in, former, and the verb fari ("tell"). In other words, “what cannot be expressed”.
It is a term commonly used to refer to what is "unnameable" (that is, taboo), as the name of the Devil may be in the Christian imagination, or even to the death itself, or else the name of God, which the ancient Hebrews transcribed as YHWH is replaced when reading by Adonai ("The Lord") or HaShem ("Name").
The ineffable can also refer to something lacking logic, or paradoxical or too complex to be mentally organized and expressed in words.
From this point of view, many philosophers have used the term to refer to a certain existential aspect of life, that is, to a certain point of view on the existence that is very complex to transmit in an organized way, and that therefore can only be expressed through metaphors or replacements, as in the art and in the poetry.
Phrases about the ineffable
Some famous phrases about the ineffable are:
- "The ineffable perhaps provides the background against which what I might express acquires meaning" - Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher.
- “Telling the truth is impossible; either it is nefarious, or it is ineffable ”- María Zambrano, writer.
- "As a consumer of paint, I believe that its great role is precisely to provide the space that can be ineffable" - Le Corbusier, architect.