Pronunciation: /VEL-ih-kor/ Part of speech: noun Definition: The strange, bittersweet wistfulness one feels inside a used bookstore, surrounded by thousands of old books and the weight of all the time they carry. Etymology: The word was coined in the 21st century by John Koenig for his project The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, a compendium of invented words for emotions that lack names. It blends *vellum* (the fine parchment long used for manuscripts, from Medieval Latin *vitulinum*, meaning calf skin) with *ichor*, the golden fluid said to flow through the veins of the gods in Greek mythology. The pairing suggests something both ancient and otherworldly flowing through the pages of old books. Synonyms: nostalgia, wistfulness, melancholy, yearning, reverie, saudade In a sentence: He had only stopped in to get out of the rain, but the dim light and towering shelves wrapped around him like a familiar coat, and within minutes he was deep in vellichor_, pulling worn paperbacks from the shelves and wondering about all the hands that had held them before his.