As the seasons begin to change from autumn to winter, the jitteriness of birds ahead of their migration is called zugunruhe. The gentle bending back and forth of treetops in the wind is known as queeving. And that first icy morning of the wintertime might leave the ground beneath your feet chibbly—that is, crisp and brittle with frost. 

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These are just a handful of more than 400 obscure words and phrases collected in A Winter Dictionary. Starting in the late autumn, chapter by chapter the book takes the reader on a word-finding journey through the winter and holiday season—from words for snow and ice to the festive preparations, the yearly overindulgences of food and drink, the winter blues, gifts and gift-giving, and both Christmas and New Year.

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The final chapter brings this seasonal journey to a close with a set of beautiful and evocative words pertaining to the return of the finer weather in the spring—among them greenout (a feeling of relief on seeing the first fresh green growth after the wintertime), valentining (the chirruping of birds searching for a mate), and vernalagnia (a romantic mood brought on by the springtime).