Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
adjective
- incapable of being expressed or described in words; inexpressible: ineffable joy.
- not to be spoken because of its sacredness; unutterable: the ineffable name of the deity.
adjective
- too great or intense to be expressed in words; unutterable
- too sacred to be uttered
- indescribable; indefinable
late 14c., from Old French ineffable (14c.) or directly from Latin ineffabilis “unutterable,” from in- “not, opposite of” (see in- (1)) + effabilis “speakable,” from effari “utter,” from ex- “out” (see ex-) + fari “speak” (see fame (n.)). Plural noun ineffables was, for a time, a jocular euphemism for “trousers” (1823). Related: Ineffably.