nostalgia

[no-stal-juh, -jee-uh, nuh-]

noun

1. a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.

   a nostalgia for his college days.

2. something that elicits or displays nostalgia.

nostalgia

/ -dʒɪə, nɒˈstældʒə /

noun

1. a yearning for the return of past circumstances, events, etc

2. the evocation of this emotion, as in a book, film, etc

3. longing for home or family; homesickness

Other Word Forms

• nostalgic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of nostalgia¹

First recorded in 1770–80; from New Latin, from Greek nóst(os) “a return home” + -algia -algia

Word History and Origins

Origin of nostalgia¹

C18: New Latin (translation of German Heimweh homesickness), from Greek nostos a return home + _-algia

Example Sentences

But its arrival might spark a sense of nostalgia among older viewers.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Good actors “act the way people used to act,” he says with a rueful nostalgia at odds with his youth.

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In some circles, shifting marriage roles are helping fuel a nostalgia for a time when men and women stuck to gender norms.

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The goal is to revive interest in the franchise for a new generation, rather than continuing to coast off waning nostalgia.

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What’s an instant nostalgia bomb that takes you back to being 15?

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• longing 
• remorse 
• sentimentality 
• wistfulness 
• yearning