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.
something that elicits or displays nostalgia.
Origin of nostalgia
1770–80; <New Latin <Greek nóst(os) a return home + -algia-algia
OTHER WORDS FROM nostalgia
nos·tal·gic,adjective
Words nearby nostalgia
nosophobia, nosopoietic, Nosopsyllus, nosotaxy, no spring chicken, nostalgia, nostalgic, nostalgist, nostalgy, no-stick, nostoc
Bankable nostalgiaFord isn’t afraid to look to the past and trade on nostalgia—take the Ford GT and its entire Mustang line for evidence.
Ford, just admit it: You’re a truckmaker now|Shawn Tully|September 21, 2020|Fortune
Recently, I located some rice cakes in the aisles of my own grocery store to indulge the strange nostalgia that I had for a food that’s sometimes compared to dry cardboard.
The Rise and Fall of the Rice Cake, America’s One-Time Favorite Health Snack|Brenna Houck|September 17, 2020|Eater
During a crisis, it’s natural to look at the past with nostalgia and focus on the short term.
COVID-19 has spurred rapid transformation in health care. Let’s make sure it stays that way|jakemeth|August 20, 2020|Fortune
De Robertis, an East Village mainstay, closes tomorrow—a moment for nostalgia, but also pragmatism.
De Robertis, a New York Great, Bids Farewell|Lizzie Crocker|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In “Back Home,” Gil also revisits the nostalgia for the South explored in his Johns Hopkins thesis, “Circle of Stone.”
‘The Prince of Chocolate City’: When Gil Scott-Heron Became A Music Icon|Marcus Baram|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yet her work is all heart, her flights of fancy rich with nostalgia without being mawkish.
The Singular Artist of New Yorkistan|Lizzie Crocker|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Levin rightly disparages the “nostalgia” that he says “blinds” both liberals and conservatives to this new reality.
Relax—Both Parties Are Going Extinct|Nick Gillespie|November 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The books are not nostalgia, and I would hate for them to be thought of as nostalgia.
Sarah Waters: Queen of the Tortured Lesbian Romance|Tim Teeman|September 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Most of these emigrants, moreover, suffered from the nostalgia which is characteristic of the Swiss.
Lausanne|Francis Henry Gribble
He sat down on a stool and bowed his face in his hands, while his shoulders heaved up and down in the emotion of nostalgia.
Abe and Mawruss|Montague Glass
In some ill-defined way Harrington Surtaine was involved in that nostalgia.
The Clarion|Samuel Hopkins Adams
That was my great object in those days; I was a victim to nostalgia, or home sickness.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete|Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
The nostalgia of the boards is a disease your love might not have warded off.
The Grey Wig: Stories and Novelettes|Israel Zangwill
British Dictionary definitions for nostalgia
nostalgia
/ (nɒˈstældʒə, -dʒɪə) /
noun
a yearning for the return of past circumstances, events, etc
the evocation of this emotion, as in a book, film, etc
longing for home or family; homesickness
Word Origin for nostalgia
C18: New Latin (translation of German Heimweh homesickness), from Greek nostos a return home + -algia