Definition of NOSTALGIA

nostalgia

Plural: nostalgias

Noun

  • longing for something past
  • A longing for home or familiar surroundings; homesickness.
  • A bittersweet yearning for the things of the past.

Examples

  • Seeing food at camp similar to his mother's cooking sent a wave of nostalgia through him.

Origin / 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.
Compare Italian nostalgia, Spanish nostalgia, Portuguese nostalgia and French nostalgie.

Scrabble Score: 10

nostalgia: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
nostalgia: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
nostalgia: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

nostalgia: valid Words With Friends Word