Ecsis

a hand holding a fossil

Ecsis

n.
the haunting sense of mystery infused into certain random details that beckons you to wonder how it ended up here at this point in time—marveling at a patch of white on a dog’s chest, a bubble trapped in an old window, a glimpse of Saturn’s rings shivering in a telescope lens—knowing that behind the thing itself is a long chain of causes and effects that veers off into the shadows of prehistory, anchored somewhere near the dawn of time, even though the end result is somehow right there in front of you, shimmering in place.

Indonesian eksis, to exist, to be. Pronounced “ek-sis.”

Ghough

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

Evertheless

a person floating in water

Desanté

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

Pithered

stacks of papers and folders piled high on a table

Ringlorn

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

Waldosia

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