Vellichor

Meaning of Vellichor

Vellichor is the strange, wistful nostalgia you feel when you are inside a second-hand bookstore. It’s the bittersweet sense of history, memories, and untold stories within old books.

Examples

• Walking through the dusty aisles of the old shop, she felt vellichor wash over her.
• Vellichor is the quiet magic ✨ of knowing every book has been loved by someone before you.

Origin

Coined by John Koenig in The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. It describes emotions that previously had no name.