Moledro

Moledro

n.
a feeling of resonant connection with an author or artist you’ll never meet, who may have lived centuries ago and thousands of miles away but can still get inside your head and leave behind morsels of their experience, like the little piles of stones left by hikers that mark a hidden path through unfamiliar territory.

Portuguese moledro, cairn. According to Portuguese legend, if you take a stone from a cairn and put it under a pillow, in the morning an enchanted soldier will appear for a moment, before transforming back into the stone and returning to the pile. Pronounced “moh-leh-droh.”

Ne’er-Be-Gone

Cover image for the Ne’er-Be-Gone word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Achenia

a close-up of a bottle with an organic object inside

Nachlophobia

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

Rasque

close-up of the shards of a broken vase

Waldosia

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

Zverism

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