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.”

Xeno

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

Fata Organa

Cover image for the Fata Organa word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

O’Erpine

a person looking at a grave

Walloway

water faucet that seems to emanate from the ground

Mithenness

a person standing on the side of a road

Adomania

a person riding a horse