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.”

Altschmerz

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

Ecsis

a hand holding a fossil

Hiddled

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

Liberosis

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

Endzoned

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

Sayfish

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