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.”

Lap Year

several people racing bicycles uphill in a forest

Aoyaoia

a person holding a guitar

Suente

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

La Cuna

Cover image for the La Cuna word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Momophobia

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

Kerisl

piles of old books scattered in an abandoned room

Aulasy

a blurry image of a house on the road

Holiette

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

Endzoned

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

Keep

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

Drisson

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

On Tenderhooks

Cover image for the On Tenderhooks word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows