Vellichor

shelves with many books stacked and organized

Vellichor

n.
the strange wistfulness of used bookstores, which are somehow infused with the passage of time—filled with thousands of old books you’ll never have time to read, each of which is itself locked in its own era, bound and dated and papered over like an old room the author abandoned years ago, a hidden annex littered with thoughts left just as they were on the day they were captured.

From vellum, parchment + ichor, the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in Ancient Greek mythology. Pronounced “vel-uh-kawr.”

The Whipgraft Delusion

Cover image for the The Whipgraft Delusion word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

The Unsharp Mask

a mirror with a reflection of a person

Zielschmerz

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

Aubadoir

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

Vulture Shock

Cover image for the Vulture Shock word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Aimonomia

close-up of a plant with lights glowing in background