Is there a general word for objects of deep longing? I am thinking of things of deep spiritual symbolism, the objects of long quests, like the Holy Grail, philosopher's stone, cintamani, unicorn, etc. Now I know some of these terms are sometimes abstracted from their peculiar mythos to mean just this general concept- some people might use "holy grail", for instance, to refer to anything considered perfect or ideal in its field. But I'd like to know if there is some more generic word. I'd be interested in words from any language for this purpose.
You might be able to use gloria/gnoria and bend that to your purpose. A gloria is a source of righteous desire. A gnoria is a source of righteous knowledge.
Interesting, never seen "gloria" used that way; never seen the word "gnoria" at all. Where do these usages come from?
You only see them on etymology sites. They're not used anymore. So you're repurposing the Latin. Let's see . . . Here's one. Looks like scholars fight over the derivation of gnoria, haha. I didn't know that. It's like "gnomic." Wise and having knowledge. Probably the same root word. Edit: I guess it's Old French and such, not Latin. You're using this one: c. 1200, gloire "the splendor of God or Christ; praise offered to God, worship," from Old French glorie "glory (of God); worldly honor, renown; splendor, magnificence, pomp" (11c., Modern French gloire), from Latin gloria "fame, renown, great praise or honor
I might err on the side of simplicity and obviousness but what about these: ??? artifact relic heirloom curio Although I guess those are just names of old valuables. I once wrote a short story where I introduce the reader to a sacred object called the "chalice of vanity" - it had some much sought after properties but the side effect was that it would also turn the wearer into a conceited megalomaniac. But that's just an example how to name specific objects. Maybe a general word you could use would be a trinket, novelty, or an ornament? I don't know if these are completely off or not what you were going for ...
Yeah, what I have in mind is something with some deep spiritual or psychological significance in itself, and not just as a plot mover (so, for instance, McGuffin or trinket would be out). "Fetish" as I understand it had a somewhat pejorative sense (kind of like "idol") and popular discourse nowadays has limited its sense even further. "Gloria" is an interesting option- I remember Arthur Machen's book involving a modern Grail quest is called The Secret Glory (I have not yet read this book however).
Relic is the one I'd most recognize and I recall Padre Pio's relic causing quite a stir when I was younger. Then, more recently, our neighbours left us in charge of The Idol for a few days (managed not to break it). If you're looking for something more esoteric, my very quick synonym search gave me reliquiae, which seems a rather pretty word, suitably obscure to allow you to use it to your purpose.
Lol, I just wanted to suggest something along the lines of "reliquia". In my language, a "Reliquie" is any object that is supposed to have belonged to a saint or Jesus himself. Could be anything from a piece of clothing to actual body parts like finger bones. Reliquiae are highly sacred objects and were often brought home from crusades. Churches who are owning reliquiae often become pilgrimage destinations because of those reliquiae.
Right, I've seen quite a few relics myself (including whole bodies of saints) but I think the word is a bit too closely associated with saint veneration and dead people for my purposes.
The word you're looking for might be "desideratum." https://www.dictionary.com/browse/desideratum BTW, I'm gratified to learn upon researching this word that Max Ehrmann's poem "Desiderata" is now being correctly attributed to him.
Kind of sappy, but I actually kissed my future wife for the first time over a copy of this poem. She had it framed on the wall and was showing it to me. The timing seemed right. 17 years haven't proven me wrong yet.
I like the suggestion desiderata. If you prefer the Greek to the Latin, you might consider epithymiti, which translates to desired. Another suggestion is to simply use treasures. Did you know the Latin for treasure is thesaurus?
