Aimonomia

close-up of a plant with lights glowing in background

Aimonomia

n.
the fear that learning the name of something—a bird, a constellation, an attractive stranger—will somehow ruin it, inadvertently transforming a lucky discovery into a conceptual husk pinned in a glass case, leaving one less mystery fluttering around in the universe.

French aimer, to love + nom, name. A palindrome. Pronounced “eym-uh-nohm-ee-uh.”

Skidding

Cover image for the Skidding word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Offtides

close-up of a chromed metal object

Suente

Cover image for the Suente word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Spinning Playback Head

silhouette of a person looking out a window

Drisson

Cover image for the Drisson word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Anaphasia

Cover image for the Anaphasia word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows