impalpable means incapable of being touched or felt; incorporeal, intangible.
Why “impalpable” is a great word
Incapable of being felt by touch, or too subtle to be grasped by the mind. From the Medieval Latin *impalpabilis*, from Latin *in-* ("not") + *palpabilis* ("that may be touched or felt"), first recorded in English c. 1500. Unlike "intangible," which emphasizes a lack of physical substance, or "elusive," which suggests a quarry that slips away, "impalpable" describes an inherent resistance to sensory contact. It is the chill of a shadow that falls without a breeze, the pressure of a forgotten dream upon waking, the specific weight of a silence in an empty room—phenomena that press upon the spirit while dissolving under the hand.
Etymology
From Middle French impalpable, from Medieval Latin impalpabilis. See im- + palpable.
adj
- Incapable of being touched or felt; incorporeal, intangible.e.g.“But here thou canst not handle aught, neither make the folk ware of thee, not though thou shout thy throat hoarse. For thou and I walk here impalpable and invisible, as it were two dreams walking.”
- Not able to be perceived, or able to be perceived only with difficulty; insubstantial, thin.
- Not easily grasped (mentally) or understood.e.g.“What is happiness, anyhow? Is this one of its hours, or the like of it?—so impalpable—a mere breath, an evanescent tinge?”
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