nostalgia

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   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.

2. 2
   noun

   A bittersweet yearning for the things of the past.

   an alumnus' feelings of nostalgia for his/her years in high school

3. 3
   noun

   longing for something past

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.