Indefinableness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality or state of being impossible to define clearly or express in precise terms
2. The characteristic of resisting clear definition or exact description in words
3. The inability to be described or limited by fixed boundaries of meaning

Etymology: "Indefinableness" is simply "indefinable" with the suffix "-ness" added, and the two parts are worth taking separately. "Indefinable" combines the prefix "in-" meaning "not" with "definable," which in turn comes from "define," meaning to fix the limits or boundaries of something. So the core idea is a quality that resists having its limits drawn. The suffix "-ness" is an old Germanic ending, from Old English "-nes," that turns an adjective into a noun naming a state or quality. Attaching it to "indefinable" produces a noun for the condition of being impossible to define, a pattern English speakers have used freely for centuries with adjectives like "kindness" or "darkness." The result is a noun describing an abstraction rather than a thing, which is why the word is most often used for vague or elusive qualities such as a feeling, a mood, or a concept.