Starlorn

snow flakes in the dark

Starlorn

n.
a sense of loneliness looking up at the night sky, feeling like a castaway marooned in the middle of the ocean, whose currents are steadily carrying off all other castaways—entire worlds and stars whose only remnant is a scrap of light they flung overboard centuries ago, a message in a bottle that’s only just now washing up on our shores.

From star, a luminous dot in the cloudless sky + -lorn, sorely missing. Pronounced “stahr-lawrn.”

Rookish

a stone tower with a person seated on top

Galagog

a person alone in a snowy desolate landscape

Boorance

a group of objects on a table

Nemotia

a city with clouds of smoke

Halfwise

a train coming towards the camera shot from the tracks

Kairosclerosis

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

Hubilance

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

Kinchy

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

Mithenness

a person standing on the side of a road

Ironsick

a group of random devices

Yeorie

a woman with tendrils of smoke moving across her face

Insoucism

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

Austice

a leaf imprint in the mud