Pronunciation: /ˈvɛl.ɪ.kɔr/ Part of speech: noun Definition: The strange, melancholy wistfulness one feels inside a used bookstore, as if the shelves are saturated with the quiet passage of time. Etymology: *Vellichor* is a 21st-century neologism coined by writer John Koenig for his project *The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows*, first circulating widely online around 2013. It blends *vellum* (the Latin-rooted word for the fine parchment long used in old books) with *ichor*, the ancient Greek word for the ethereal fluid said to flow through the veins of the gods. The construction mirrors the 1964 coinage *petrichor* (the scent of rain on dry earth), swapping the stone prefix for one evoking aged paper and ink. Synonyms: nostalgia, wistfulness, melancholy, reverie, saudade, pensiveness In a sentence: She had only meant to browse for five minutes, but the vellichor_ of the cramped little shop on Elm Street held her there for an hour, running her fingertips along spines of books she would probably never read.