Apricity
Apricity is the warmth of the sun in winter — a word dictionaries still list, marked obsolete, but which almost never appears in actual English writing.
Full definition of Apricity →:: COMPARE ::
ApricityvsPsithurism
The short answer
Both get filed as 'beautiful lost words', and only one deserves the suspicion. Psithurism has an OED citation from an actual writer — Leigh Hunt, 1848. Apricity has no OED usage citation at all — one stray 1856 sentence is the whole of its life outside the dictionaries. One lapsed from use; the other may never have entered it.
Side by side
| Aspect | Apricity | Psithurism |
|---|---|---|
| OED usage citation | None | 1848, Leigh Hunt |
| In other dictionaries | Bailey 1749, Century, Wiktionary | Collins, Cambridge |
| Status | Dictionary artefact | Archaic but real |
| Ever used? | Barely — one 1856 instance | Yes |
What each one means
Psithurism
Psithurism is the rustling or whispering sound of wind moving through trees.
Full definition of Psithurism →