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.”

Bye-Over

Cover image for the Bye-Over word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Mauerbauertraurigkeit

Mauerbauer-traurigkeit

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

Arroia

people standing on a stage

Heartworm

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

Lookaback

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

Amuse-Douche

Cover image for the Amuse-Douche word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows