Curious Word: Noetic

The latest star in the constellation Curious Word comes to us via P.G. O'Rourke in his latest work, a dissection of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. Sadly, I've once again managed to lose the exact page...actually, I don't have any idea what the page was. I finished the book late last night after soaking up the remains of decent bottle of the ol' chard from Clos du Bois. Of course, the remains of a bottle were not nearly enough, so Mr. Daniels and I struggled with the last few pages as a team.

As a result, I can't tell you quite where the word was used. Fortunately, after a little research to become better acquainted with the term, I can tell you what it means.

Noetic:

The term is usually philosophical in its usage, and is broadly defined, though everyone seems to agree that it has something to do with your noggin or whatever is canoodling about inside the old bean.

Okay, I admit, that is a definition of my own invention. Let's turn to some wikimagic for a better description.

In philosophy and religion, the word noetic, from the Greek νοῦς (nous) is usually translated as "mind", "understanding", "intellect", or "reason". Most dictionaries define the term noetic as a synonym of "mental" or "intellectual." From the nous emerges the world soul, which gives rise to the manifest realm.

Hmm. There you have it. Happily, the term is eminently flexible, as you can see by the various, vague definitions offered. For instance, one might readily employ the term to sketch a thoughtful versifier: "What a noetic poetic."

Indeed.