Appriesse

a blurry image of a person looking at mounted images

Appriesse

n.
the feeling of loss that you never had a chance to meet a certain person before they died, which compels you to try to get to know them anyway, gathering snapshots and stories to build out a sketch of who they were, learning them like a character in a novel, which makes them feel all the more alive even though you’ve already skipped ahead and read the last page.

Latin appretiare, to appraise + ad pressum, after. Pronounced “ap-ree-es.”

Heartspur

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

Fata Organa

Cover image for the Fata Organa word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Immerensis

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

Hobsmacked

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

Suerza

a tunnel with a light emanating from the end

Mornden

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