word of the day: numinous

The word of the day is numinous:

Etymology:  < classical Latin nūmin-, nūmen numen n. + -ous suffix.

1.a. Of or relating to a numen; revealing or indicating the presence of a divinity; divine, spiritual. Also as n.

 b. In extended use: giving rise to a sense of the spiritually transcendent; (esp. of things in art or the natural world) evoking a heightened sense of the mystical or sublime; awe-inspiring. Also as n.

 2. Psychol. Relating to the experience of the divine as awesome or terrifying; designating that which governs the subject outside his or her own will. Also as n. Cf. numinosum n.  (OED)

"This is where you learn the vertigo of knowing something a protagonist doesn’t. For you, the tradition of the glimpsed numinous starts here."

 - China Miéville, "Forward thinking", 4 & 11 June 2012 The New Yorker