nostalgia
n.-
1 longing for the past (n.) B2 Upper Intermediatea bittersweet feeling of missing the past or wanting to return to a time you remember fondly.
a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time. Uncountable in general usage, though specific instances may be treated as countable.
ExampleHearing that old song filled him with nostalgia for his university days.
ExampleThe film relies heavily on 1980s nostalgia, using neon aesthetics and synth-pop music to evoke a specific sense of childhood wonder.
- reminiscence
- wistfulness
- sentimentality
-
2 homesickness (n.) C2 Proficiency Archaica strong feeling of missing your home or your country when you are away.
the original medical sense of acute homesickness or a longing for familiar surroundings. Now largely replaced by 'homesickness' in modern clinical contexts.
ExampleThe sailor suffered from a deep nostalgia for the green hills of his home.
ExampleIn eighteenth-century medical texts, nostalgia was often diagnosed as a physical ailment affecting soldiers stationed far from their native villages.
UsageIn modern English, this sense is almost entirely replaced by 'homesickness' unless writing in a historical context.
- homesickness
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.
- Nounnostalgia
- Adjectivenostalgic