rubatosis

English

Etymology

Presumably rubato +‎ -osis. Coined by American author and neologist John Koenig in 2012 as part of his The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows project.

Noun

rubatosis (uncountable)

1. (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