Knellish

a blurry image of a person lying on a bed

Knellish

adj.
afraid to relax your body and drift off to sleep because you can’t help but notice how much it rhymes with death—lying flat on your back, your hands clumped on your chest, trying to force yourself to let go of consciousness, knowing you’ll almost certainly find your grip again but unsure exactly how that happens.

Armenian քնել (k’nel), sleep + knell, a ringing announcement of a death. Pronounced “nel-ish.”

Kuebiko

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

Yeorie

a woman with tendrils of smoke moving across her face

Keyframe

a large rock in the water with emanating ripples

Mithenness

a person standing on the side of a road

The Giltwrights

Cover image for the The Giltwrights word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Inerrata

a hand holding a broken cup