Thursday, January 31, 2013
"Numinous"
The word "numinous" is a lovely word. Of course it's just a word, a word like any other word. You want a dictionary definition, you can get it. And then...there's what it refers to.
The O.E.D. says "Divine, spiritual: revealing or indicating the presence of a divinity; awe-inspiring. Also, aesthetically appealing, uplifting." Merriam-Webster says "1: Supernatural, mysterious 2: filled with a sense of the presence of divinity: holy 3: appealing to the higher emotions or to the aesthetic sense: spiritual."
But the root goes to Latin nuere, "nod" and Greek neuein, "to incline the head." That which is numinous is that which has been given the "divine nod."
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hey da,
ReplyDeletei do love the word numinous - how it feels on the tongue. and even though my brain knows the word has three syllables, i also enjoy saying it as if it had only two.
numi nous.
as mortals, we all desire to raise our heads, experience the sublime.
elizabeth
Don - I concur with my sister from another mother, Liz. Although I might not have the anatomical pleasure of the word, I do like that God can nod his head in pleasure from time to time.
ReplyDeleteP.S - Liz...does numi nous have a particular taste? ;-) xxoo