Querinous

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

Querinous

adj.
longing for a sense of certainty in a relationship; wishing there were some way to know ahead of time whether this is the person you’re going to wake up next to for twenty thousand mornings in a row, instead of having to count them out one by one, quietly hoping your streak continues.

Mandarin 确 认 (quèrèn), confirmation. Twenty thousand days is roughly fifty-five years. Pronounced “kweh-ruh-nuhs.”

Zysia

a kite soaring above an empty landscape

Heartspur

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

Furosha

a storm raging in the sky over a building

Gobo

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

Pâro

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

Epistrix

several doors standing in a dark room