nostalgia
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nostalgia
- /nɒˈstæld͡ʒə/ UK
- /nɑˈstæld͡ʒə/ US
- /nəˈstæld͡ʒə/ US
- /nɔˈstæld͡ʒə/ US
- /nəˈstæɫd͡ʒə/ Australia
Where it comes from
From New Latin nostalgia, coined by Johannes Hofer in 1688 from Ancient Greek νόστος (nóstos, “returning home”) + ἄλγος (álgos, “pain”), calquing German Heimweh. Ancient Greek *νοσταλγία (*nostalgía) is unattested. Transferred sense probably influenced by French nostalgie, especially in literature.
Compare Italian nostalgia, Spanish nostalgia, Portuguese nostalgia and French nostalgie.
noun nostalgias · nostalgy
-
A longing for home or familiar surroundings; homesickness.
Seeing food at camp similar to his mother's cooking sent a wave of nostalgia through him.
Opposite: nostopathy, nostophobia
- A bittersweet yearning for the things of the past. an alumnus' feelings of nostalgia for his/her years in high school
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: sentiment, feeling, desire, aspiration, longing, homesickness, yearning, reminiscence, sentimentality, wistfulness, recollection, pensiveness, reverie, memory, retrospection, pining
Translations
Every language
noun bittersweet yearning for the things of the past
| Español | nostalgia, añoranza |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 향수 hyangsu, 노스탤지어 noseutaeljieo, 회향 hoehyang |
| 日本語 | 懐古 kaiko, 懐旧 kaikyū, ノスタルジー nosutarujī, ノスタルジア nosutarujia |
| 中文 | 懷舊 /怀旧 huáijiù, 懷古 /怀古 huáigǔ |
| हिन्दी | उदासी udāsī, गृहातुरता gŕhāturtā, गृहस्मारी gŕhasmārī, गृह-विरह gŕh-virah |
| Português | nostalgia, saudade |
| Français | nostalgie |
| Deutsch | Nostalgie, Wehmut |
| Italiano | nostalgia |
| Ελληνικά | νοσταλγία nostalgía |
| Română | nostalgie |
| Русский | ностальги́я nostalʹgíja, тоска́ toská |
| Tiếng Việt | hoài niệm, nuối tiếc, nỗi nhớ |
| العربية | حَنِين ḥanīn, اِشْتِيَاق ištiyāq |
| עברית | נוֹסְטַלְגְיָה nostálgya |
Talk about this word "nostalgia." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/nostalgia. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. nostalgia. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/nostalgia "nostalgia." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/nostalgia.Cite this
@misc{nostalgia_2026,
title = {nostalgia},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/nostalgia},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
