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.”

Emorries

a magnifying glass over photos and books

Amentalio

a person in a white dress, facing away

Solla, Solla, Solla

a hand reaching out for plant tendril

Harke

a dreamlike image of a person's face over water

Blinkback

a wall full of pictures and objects

Rasque

close-up of the shards of a broken vase

Midsummer

a person standing in a garden holding a clock

Yeorie

a woman with tendrils of smoke moving across her face

Backmasking

a woman's face with a double exposure

Inerrata

a hand holding a broken cup

Nowlings

a pile of black and white puzzle pieces

Etterath

a graduation cap and gown on a chair

Walloway

water faucet that seems to emanate from the ground

Austice

a leaf imprint in the mud

Anchorage

a person's arm extended over river rapids

Lap Year

several people racing bicycles uphill in a forest

Archimony

a person looking at broken furniture

Anticious

a group of men in hats looking at elevated signage

Epistrix

several doors standing in a dark room

Aoyaoia

a person holding a guitar

Falesia

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

Wellium

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

The Wends

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

Zverism

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

Rasque

close-up of the shards of a broken vase

Nodrophobia

close-up of a stained shirt

Blinkback

a wall full of pictures and objects