Why “murken” is a great word
MURKEN — [Verb] To make or become murky or dark. From Middle English mirkenen, from Old Norse myrkna ("to grow dark"), equivalent to murk ("darkness") + -en (verb-forming suffix). Unlike "obscure," which implies a deliberate veiling of meaning, or "tarnish," which suggests a specific dulling of sheen or repute, to murken is to enact a physical, atmospheric dimming, a thickening of the medium itself. It is the silt stirring in a clear pond, the slow fog swallowing a hillside tree by tree, or the way a cherished memory loses its sharp edges to a soft, gray tint—the world's quiet, passive surrender to an older, darker state.