Apricity

February 20, 2023

Apricity (noun) – The warmth of the sun in winter.

I am currently attracted to the word apricity for several reasons. First, apricity is considered an obsolete word within the English language and I’ve always been one for underdogs. Then, there is its luminous meaning: the warmth of the sun in winter. Today is a chilly, cold-winded, February day in central Vermont and yet a lovely apricity is present as a welcome respite from the chill.

Apricity—pronounced as it is spelled—is an old English word that is said to have entered the English language in 1623 (merriam-webster.com) and is from the Latin apricus meaning “warmed by the sun.”

I am also attracted to apricity for its comparison to the Danish hygge. This noun (hygge can be used as an adjective, too) is defined as “a cozy quality that makes a person feel content and comfortable” and interestingly, it has a very old etymology that stretches back to the Old Norse word hugr, which Mirriam-Webster says meant, “mind, heart, wish.”

Think of a comforting warmth beaming on your face upturned to the sky on a cold, winter day! Couple that with an obscure word from the past (hugr) that meant experiencing something with our minds and hearts, as a wish. Oh my. How exquisitely beautiful is that?

Last, Lillian Lake, a journalist who wrote the recent (2/15/23) Sun Journal article, Apricity: An English cold weather word to warm you (https://www.sunjournal.com), says, “My experience is that when we slow to appreciate the essence of apricity, we are experiencing a Godwink moment. A Godwink moment…has come to be thought of as an unexpected coincidence connecting with the divine.”

Apricity + Hygge + Godwink

Could one ask for a more amazing group of words and feelings on this Monday in late February?