이지윤

Why I collected this word

Personally, I always wanted to know the origin of this word because it doesn't seem like an English word. This is the word created by a doctor so I expect that there will be interesting stories and fact.

01 Origin

Ancient Greek · N/A · Nostos + Algos · A disease that makes you seriously miss your hometown

02 Change & Context

• 1688 A type of mental illness — In 17th century, Swiss soldiers were serving abroad because of the war leaving their hometowns. They seriously missed their hometowns spending a long time away from home. There were even physical symptoms such as eating disorder, sleeplessness that showed to some of them. At that time, Johannes Hofer a medical student who was studying about such disease, created the word 'nostalgia' combining two Ancient Greek Nostos(homecoming) and Algos(pain).

03 Network

• homesickness Nostalgia and homesickness both involve longing for something familiar from the past or a place connected to meaningful memories. However, homesickness is more specifically about missing home. (dictionary)
• memory Nostalgia is often triggered by memories of people, places, or experiences from the past. Memories provide the emotional connection that makes nostalgia possible. (blog)

04 Voices

• Seungha The missing days
• Sharon A title of a song, a flower, yellow
• Hara A title of a song, Memories of the past

05 Reflection

I used to think it's just a sentimental word that means an emotion about missing something. While reasearching the word I could know that it was created for the medical terminology at first. At that time, Homesickness was considered as a type of disease. The people who had such symtoms were Swiss soldiers who were spending a long time away from home. They missed their home a lot. And it also caused their health problems. I was shocked by the fact. I couldn't even imagine such story of the word.

Next Journal topic