Meaning of "nostalgia" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD NOSTALGIA

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

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF NOSTALGIA

nostalgia  [nɒˈstældʒə]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF NOSTALGIA

Nostalgia is a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES NOSTALGIA MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Nostalgia

The term nostalgia describes a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of νόστος, meaning "homecoming", a Homeric word, and ἄλγος, meaning "pain, ache", and was coined by a 17th-century medical student to describe the anxieties displayed by Swiss mercenaries fighting away from home. Described as a medical condition—a form of melancholy—in the Early Modern period, it became an important trope in Romanticism. Nostalgia in its most common form was responsible for the old front desk of The Beverly Hills Hotel being made into a bar. In common, less clinical usage nostalgia can refer to a general interest in the past, their personalities and events, especially the "good old days" from one's earlier life. Boym argues that nostalgia is more prevalent during times of great upheaval. The scientific literature on nostalgia is quite thin, but a few studies have attempted to pin down its essence and causes.

Definition of nostalgia in the English dictionary

The first definition of nostalgia in the dictionary is a yearning for the return of past circumstances, events, etc. Other definition of nostalgia is the evocation of this emotion, as in a book, film, etc. Nostalgia is also longing for home or family; homesickness.

SYNONYMS OF «NOSTALGIA»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «nostalgia» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of nostalgia

homesickness · longing · regret · regretfulness · remembrance · reminiscence · wistfulness · yearning

TRANSLATION OF NOSTALGIA

Find out the translation of nostalgia to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of nostalgia from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «nostalgia» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: > 怀旧
• Translator English - Spanish: nostalgia
• English: nostalgia
• Translator English - Hindi: पुरानी यादों
• Translator English - Arabic: الحنين
• Translator English - Russian: ностальгия
• Translator English - Portuguese: nostalgia
• Translator English - Bengali: স্বদেশে ফেরার আকুলতা
• Translator English - French: nostalgie
• Translator English - Malay: Nostalgia
• Translator English - German: Nostalgie
• Translator English - Japanese: 郷愁
• Translator English - Korean: 향수
• Translator English - Javanese: Nostalgia
• Translator English - Vietnamese: nỗi nhớ
• Translator English - Tamil: ஏக்கம்
• Translator English - Marathi: घराची ओढ
• Translator English - Turkish: nostalji
• Translator English - Italian: nostalgia
• Translator English - Polish: nostalgia
• Translator English - Ukrainian: ностальгія
• Translator English - Romanian: nostalgie
• Translator English - Greek: νοσταλγία
• Translator English - Afrikaans: nostalgie
• Translator English - Swedish: nostalgi
• Translator English - Norwegian: nostalgi

10 QUOTES WITH «NOSTALGIA»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word nostalgia.

1

Kate Adie

I have no time for the endless nostalgia: 'Oh gosh I used to . . . ' Life is too short; I don't have any time for sitting and saying I miss things. What's the point? Go and do something else.

2

Sherman Alexie

Nostalgia is always doomed and dooming.

3

George Ball

Nostalgia is a seductive liar.

4

Kabir Bedi

I'm not the sort to wallow in nostalgia about the good old days.

5

Michael Ian Black

There is no word for feeling nostalgic about the future, but that's what a parent's tears often are, a nostalgia for something that has not yet occurred. They are the pain of hope, the helplessness of hope, and finally, the surrender to hope.

6

Anatole Broyard

It is one of the paradoxes of American literature that our writers are forever looking back with love and nostalgia at lives they couldn't wait to leave.

7

Jessica Capshaw

The end of anything is not fun because there's a nostalgia to it and everything else. Even the end of a bad relationship can feel so, so, so sad.

8

Peter Carey

Nostalgia is something we think of as fuzzy. But it's pain. Pain concerning the past.

9

Angela Carter

Soon, nostalgia will be another name for Europe.

10

Julio Cortazar

Why have we had to invent Eden, to live submerged in the nostalgia of a lost paradise, to make up utopias, propose a future for ourselves?

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «NOSTALGIA»

Discover the use of nostalgia in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to nostalgia and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Nostalgia: Sanctuary of Meaning

Examining the relationship between nostalgia and identity, this book suggests that nostalgia can help to facilitate the continuity of identity.

Janelle L. Wilson, 2005

The Future of Nostalgia

Combining personal memoir, philosophical essay, and historical analysis, Svetlana Boym explores the spaces of collective nostalgia that connect national biography and personal self-fashioning in the twenty-first century.

Svetlana Boym, 2008

Nostalgia: A Novel

A translation of the leading Romanian writer's 1989 debut novel consists of five stand-alone chapters that are linked together through imaginative explorations of such themes as humankind's primordial myth-making, the origins of the ...

Mircea Cărtărescu, 2005

Kodak and the Lens of Nostalgia

West looks at a wide assortment of Kodak's most popular inventions and marketing strategies, including the "Kodak Girl," the momentous invention of the Brownie camera in 1900, the "Story Campaign" during World War I, and even the Vanity ...

Nancy Martha West, 2000

Nostalgia: Origins and Ends of an Unenlightened Disease

Helmut Illbruck traces the concept of nostalgia from the earliest uses of the term in the seventeenth century to today as it evolves with different meanings and intensities in the discourses of medicine, literature, philosophy, and ...

Helmut Illbruck, 2012

Native Nostalgia

Challenging the stereotype that black people who lived under South African apartheid have no happy memories of the past, this examination into nostalgia carves out a path away from the archetypical musings.

Jacob Dlamini, 2009

Screening Nostalgia: Populuxe Props and Technicolor ...

"In this fascinating in-depth study of the impact of nostalgia on contemporary American cinema, Christine Sprengler unpicks the history of the concept and explores its significance in theory and practice.

Christine Sprengler, 2009

Post-communist Nostalgia

In this volume scholars from multiple disciplines explore the various fascinating aspects of this nostalgic turn by analyzing the impact of generational clusters, the rural-urban divide, gender differences, and political orientation.

Maria Todorova, Zsuzsa Gille, 2013

The Aesthetics of Nostalgia: Historical Representation in ...

Aesthetics of Nostalgia reads Anglo-Saxon historical verse in terms of how its aesthetic form interacted with the culture and politics of the period.

Renée Rebecca Trilling, 2009

Culinary Nostalgia: Regional Food Culture and the Urban ...

This book argues that regional food culture is intrinsic to how Chinese connect to the past, live in the present, and imagine their future.

Mark Swislocki, 2009

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «NOSTALGIA»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term nostalgia is used in the context of the following news items.

Pixels and Armada just pushed geek nostalgia over the edge

July of 2015 is officially the moment of both peak geek nostalgia and peak geek nostalgia criticism. In less than two weeks, we've seen the ... «The Verge, Jul 15»

Does David Cameron's nostalgia for Elizabethan endeavour include …

We have an unhealthy habit for nostalgia in Britain. Rosy-eyed remembrance of British history – the Empire, Blitz spirit, caning children, public ... «International Business Times UK, Jul 15»

Review: Colin Quinn, Full of Nostalgia for Gritty Old New York

When I worked at Time Out New York in the late 1990s, visitors to the office were greeted by an ad poster saying: “Welcome to New York. «New York Times, Jul 15»

'Pixels': A movie needs more than nostalgia to win over audiences (+ …

Pixels stars Adam Sandler, Peter Dinklage, and Josh Gad as video game experts who must take down real-life versions of game characters. «Christian Science Monitor, Jul 15»

Google Maps' new nostalgia trip

Google Maps' new nostalgia trip down Your Timeline. TIM BIGGS. Last updated 14:19, July 24 2015. Your Timeline is available on browsers and on the Maps ... «Stuff.co.nz, Jul 15»

Rare Replay Has the Greatest Nostalgia-Packed Opening Cinematic …

As one of the most respected developers in the history of gaming, there's certainly no shortage of mascots that have originated from Rare over the years. «Game Rant, Jul 15»

Leeds United Nostalgia: Red Devils' defeat was a joy for Jobson

RICHARD JOBSON may have started just 22 league games in a career decimated by injury at Leeds United – but one will always stand out ... «Yorkshire Evening Post, Jul 15»

Birmingham Mail Nostalgia - A look back at July 24 in years gone by

1824: The first public opinion poll was conducted in Wilmington, Delaware, on voting intentions in the forthcoming US presidential election. «Birmingham Mail, Jul 15»

Chicago Fire: On The Trap of Nostalgia

You see, that same sweetly poisonous draught of nostalgia is something that is being drunk with abandon at the moment, and in many ways it ... «Gapers Block, Jul 15»

Naknek Museum Opens: Fishing Nostalgia & Traditional Culture On …

Naknek celebrated the grand opening of its new museum last Saturday. The museum showcases artifacts from the Bristol Bay fishing industry ... «Alaska Public Radio Network, Jul 15»