rubatosis
English
Etymology
Presumably rubato + -osis. Coined by American author and neologist John Koenig in 2012 as part of his Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows project.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌɹuːbɑˈtəʊ.sɪs/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˌɹubɑˈtoʊ.sɪs/
- Rhymes: -əʊsɪs
Noun
rubatosis (uncountable)
- (neologism) The unsettling awareness of one's own heartbeat
- 2015 September, Gustaf Vonsheilds, Palm Spring Whispers, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 105:
- Amador rocked me slowly in that amniotic tranquility and I started to get sleepy. I could hear the unsettling rubatosis of my beating heart.
- 2016, Asif Anwar, Fainting Pulse: ICU Chronicles, →ISBN, page 113:
- Avis stopped in his tracks and wheeled around, thinking something had gone wrong—a moment of rubatosis.
- 2019, Jonna Wahl, Bloody Bloom, →ISBN:
- My skin brushed up against his soft hand, sending lightning throughout my body and a strong feeling of rubatosis.
Usage notes
While defined by Koenig as a sensation (“unsettling awareness”), some authors employ the term as a synonym of palpitation – not the sensation but the heartbeat itself.
References
- Koenig, John (2021), “rubatosis”, in The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 60