saudade

[soh-dahd, soh-dah-juh]

noun

1. (in Portuguese folk culture) a deep emotional state of melancholic longing for a person or thing that is absent.

   the theme of saudade in literature and music.

Word History and Origins

Origin of saudade¹

First recorded in 1910–15; from Portuguese: literally, “yearning,” from Latin sōlitāt-, stem of sōlitās “loneliness, solitude” ( Latin -l- between vowels is lost in Portuguese); the original Old Portuguese soidade was changed to saudade by association with saudar “to greet” ( salute ¹ ( def. ) )

Example Sentences

Since emerging in the music scene with her breakthrough 2013 debut EP, “Saudade,” and follow-up 2015 EP, “Verde,” Tei Shi — whose real name is Valerie Teicher Barbosa — remains untethered to a genre, ebbing and flowing between dream-pop, indie folk and shoegaze.

From Los Angeles Times

For example, “saudade,” in Portuguese and Galician is similar to nostalgia, but doesn’t have the same connotations with memory, such that it can be felt with things that have not been experienced before.

From Salon

And Marcum embraced the Portuguese concept of saudade.

From Los Angeles Times

Her early recordings are her most radiant ones, steeped in the pensive, nostalgic longing that Brazilians call saudade.

From New York Times

By the 1950s, when he had become a part of the postwar German avant-garde, Zimmermann also declared his interest in Brazilian moods of saudade, American boogie-woogie, as well as the similarly eclectic music of French composers like Darius Milhaud.

From New York Times

When To Use

What does saudade mean?

Saudade is a word for a sad state of intense longing for someone or something that is absent. Saudade comes from Portuguese culture, and it is often expressed in its literature and music.Saudade is described as a kind of melancholy yearning. Melancholy means sad, and yearning is a strong, persistent longing or desire, especially for something unattainable. In Portuguese literature and music, saudade is used as a theme or a motif, which is a recurring subject, idea, or element in an artistic work.Saudade is most often discussed in terms of its importance to Portuguese culture and for the supposed difficulty in translating it to English.