Elosy

a blurry image of a person in a subway car

Elosy

n.
the fear of major life changes, even ones you’ve been anticipating for years; the dread of leaving behind the bright and ordinary world you know, stepping out into that liminal space before the next stage of life begins, like the dark and rattling void between adjoining metro cars.

Malagasy lelosy, snail, which is a creature that carries many twists and turns wherever it goes, trying in vain to outrun them. Pronounced “ehl-uh-see.”

Adomania

a person riding a horse

Aponemia

a group of people standing together

Kadot

a person looking at an abstract spiral

Craxis

a tall house of cards

Hem-Jawed

an abstract image of someone touching their face

Nilous

a person standing at a bus terminal

Furosha

a storm raging in the sky over a building

Dystoria

close up of water drops on a window

Evertheless

a person floating in water

Starlorn

snow flakes in the dark

Tornomov

a cloudy sky and landscape

Ecsis

a hand holding a fossil

Grayshift

a spiral staircase from above

Karanoia

a neat stack of white paper

Winnewaw

a person wearing a party hat

Irrition

a close up of a dandelion

Ironsick

a group of random devices

Achenia

a close-up of a bottle with an organic object inside

Nullness

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

Pax Latrina

Cover image for the Pax Latrina word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Addleworth

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

Zysia

a kite soaring above an empty landscape

Winnewaw

a person wearing a party hat

Énouement

a hand opening a curtain

Licotic

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

Waldosia

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

Burn Upon Reentry

Cover image for the Burn Upon Reentry word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows