vellichor

noun /ˈvɛl.əˌkɔː/

1. The pensive nostalgia and temporality of used bookstores; the feeling evoked by the scent of old books or paper.

   uncountable

   It seemed that nobody else was in the shop, so I wandered around, both intimidated and entranced by the sense of vellichor as I traced my fingers along the leather spines of books beyond my time.

Where it comes from

Coined by American author and neologist John Koenig in 2013, creator of The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, as a blend of vellum (“parchment”) and ichor. Compare petrichor.

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry vellichor (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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