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.”

Mauerbauertraurigkeit

Mauerbauer-traurigkeit

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

Povism

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

Monachopsis

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

Ecsis

a hand holding a fossil

Anderance

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

Gaudia Civis

a close-up of a gear