nostalgia
A bittersweet yearning for the things of the pastA bittersweet yearning for the things of the past.
Recorded UK: Speaker: Vealhurl Recorder: Vealhurl, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons · Recorded US: Speaker: Naomi Persephone Amethyst Recorder: NaomiAmethyst, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
» Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.
За Польщу і місяць краще світив. — Internecivus
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9 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
By meaning 1
Examples
46 sentencesNostalgia ain't what it used to be.
За Польщу і місяць краще світив. — Internecivus
Black and white photos evoke nostalgia.
Sami's car is a piece of nostalgia.
Meaning
2 senses(countable, uncountable)A bittersweet yearning for the things of the past.
an alumnus' feelings of nostalgia for his/her years in high school
Nostalgie, Wehmut
ностальги́яnostalʹgíja, тоска́toská
ностальгі́яnostalʹhíja
(countable, uncommon, uncountable)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.
- longing for something past
Origin
From New Latin nostalgia, coined by Johannes Hofer in 1688 from Ancient Greek νόστος (nóstFrom 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.
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Forms
plural: nostalgiasAntonyms
2 antonymsWord family
16 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.