Why “aftersensation” is a great word
AFTERSENSATION — [Noun] A delayed sensation; one arising significantly later than the stimulus that caused it. From the English prefix 'after-' (meaning subsequent in time or place) + 'sensation' (from Old French, from Medieval Latin *sensationem*, from Latin *sensus*, meaning 'feeling, perception'). Unlike 'afterimage,' which denotes a strictly visual persistence, or 'referred pain,' which describes a precise spatial displacement, 'aftersensation' is the broader, haunting category of the tardy sense. It is the phantom warmth on skin long after a hand has been withdrawn, the delayed, metallic taste in the mouth minutes after swallowing medicine, or the distant thrum of a loud concert heard only in the ensuing silence—a poignant proof that perception keeps its own, lagging time.