Dictionary / nostalgia
nostalgia
- noun
- from New Latin
A longing for home or familiar surroundings; homesickness.
1 All current definitions
Every sense of “nostalgia” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.
noun
- countableuncommonuncountableA longing for home or familiar surroundings; homesickness.
Seeing food at camp similar to his mother's cooking sent a wave of nostalgia through him.
- countableuncountableA bittersweet yearning for the things of the past.
an alumnus' feelings of nostalgia for his/her years in high school
Cross-check: WordNet senses (1)
- nounlonging for something past
2 History of the word
The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.
The word’s journey, newest to oldest:
- English (today)nostalgia
- New Latinnostalgia
- Ancient Greekνόστος (nóstos) “returning home” + ἄλγος (álgos) “pain”
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.
Derivatives — words built from “nostalgia”
Phrases & compounds
Related terms
Want to go deeper? See also “nostalgia” on Etymonline ↗
3 Original language
Where “nostalgia” came from before it was English.
4 Original meaning
What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.
Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913
A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.
nostalgia n. [NL., fr. Gr. <?/ a return home + <?/ pain.]
- Homesickness; esp., a severe and sometimes fatal form of melancholia, due to homesickness.
5 Use it with confidence
Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.
nounMeaning: 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.
I have an idea that some men are born out of their due place. Accident has cast them amid certain surroundings, but they have always a nostalgia for a home they know not.1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter L, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:
nounMeaning: A bittersweet yearning for the things of the past.
an alumnus' feelings of nostalgia for his/her years in high school
Though there is nothing generationally unique in the desire to bask in the banalities of your past, these nostalgia communities have flourished on Facebook as its user base has grown ever older in the past decade.2022 November 15, Dan Hancox, “‘Who remembers proper binmen?’ The nostalgia memes that help explain Britain today”, in The Guardian:
Three steps to owning it
- Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
- Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
- Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?
6 The mastery game
Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.
Say it, then spell it
nostalgia
/nɒˈstæld͡ʒə/
Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.
Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________
nostalgia
/nɒˈstæld͡ʒə/ · noun
Step 1 — Say it and write it
Say “nostalgia” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.
Step 2 — Know every meaning
Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.
Step 3 — Which meaning is it?
“Seeing food at camp similar to his mother's cooking sent a wave of nostalgia through him.”
Circle the meaning used.
“an alumnus' feelings of nostalgia for his/her years in high school”
Circle the meaning used.
Step 4 — History and origin
Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):
Write three words built from “nostalgia” and what each means:
Step 5 — Original meaning
Read the etymology on the page. What does it tell you about the word’s earlier meaning?
How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?
Step 6 — Use it yourself
☐ I can explain its meanings ☐ I know its history ☐ I know its original language ☐ I know its original meaning ☐ I can use it confidently
Answer key — nostalgia
Which meaning, sentence 1: A. A longing for home or familiar surroundings; homesickness.
Which meaning, sentence 2: B. A bittersweet yearning for the things of the past.
Origin: C. New Latin (New Latin nostalgia)
Journey: English nostalgia ← New Latin nostalgia ← Ancient Greek νόστος + ἄλγος
Some derivatives: Eastalgia, fauxstalgia, nostalgic, nostalgically, nostalgise, nostalgism, nostalgist, nostalgize
Built from: νόστος “returning home” + ἄλγος “pain”
Etymology: 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.
Sources: Wiktionary “nostalgia” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nostalgia#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/nostalgia