effable
Able to be spoken of; able to be expressed.
Adjective archaic, uncommon
- Able to be spoken of; able to be expressed.
- And leave me unto mine, if they be dreams, That take such shapes before me, that I see them; These effable and ineffable impressions Of the mysterious world, that come to me From the elements of Fire and Earth and...
- I could not have chosen better for myself than his highness has chosen for me: my only regret on quitting France is at leaving a prince so effable as Philip, and a courtier so virtuous as St. Simon. - 1873, [Edward...
- This attempt by Joseph Smith Jr. to render effable the sublime and ineffable, to contain in words the appearance of the Father and the Son to him on that long ago spring morning in 1820, has become not only the...
Antonyms: ineffable
Origin
From Latin effābilis (effor (“to utter”) + -able).
Forms
Derived
Adjective euphemistic, slang
- Fuckable; sexually attractive.
- Ted: It's… I… I… I can't explain it. Natalie: Try! Ted: It's… ineffable. Natalie: I'm not effable? - 2005 October 10, Kourtney Kang, “Return of the Shirt”, in How I Met Your Mother, season 1, episode 4:
Origin
Etymology tree English eff Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English effable From eff (“fuck”) + -able.