Art & Words
The language of art, making and atmosphere, with the meaning, origin and story of each word.
Art Glossary
Featured term
Latin · shallow dish; later, surface film
The surface a material earns over time. Copper turns green. Bronze darkens. Wood silvers. What ages well does not stay the same.
Lexicon
smultronställe
noun · Swedish, “wild strawberry patch”
the small, half-secret place you return to because it feels like yours alone.
petrichor
noun · Greek petra, “stone” + ichor, “the blood of the gods”
the earthy scent of rain on dry ground, released from oils held by rock and soil; named by two Australian scientists in 1964.
komorebi
noun · Japanese
sunlight strained through leaves, arriving on the ground in pieces; the forest doing stained glass.
apricity
noun · Latin
the warmth of the sun in winter; a word for being forgiven by the weather.
sillage
noun · French, “wake”
the trail of perfume a person leaves in the air after passing; how to stay in a room you’ve already left.
psithurism
noun · from Greek psithuros, “whispering”
the sound of wind moving through leaves; the forest, talking under its breath.