The Meaning of “Innig”

Innig is a German word Schumann uses as an expressive marking in his scores.

It is one of those beautifully multi-shaded words that defies easy translation. People variously render it in English as “intimate,” “tender,” “heartfelt” and even “devoted.” Its etymology is from the old German inne — same root as English “inner” — so you could say the word means something like “inward” or “from the innermost.”

The story of how it came to be the domain name for my site is in part the same as the story of xkcd: the domain name was available. Beyond that, I thought the word’s various meanings were nicely appropriate for the personal web site of an artist. What I post here is all innig.