Nostalgia...Vocabulary and grammatical structures related to homesickness

Hello folks,

This week I've been home alone... and it's been a boring weekend, to be honest. This has prompted me to write a post about nostalgia. This word can be defined as your wistful desire to come back to one's homeland (or friends or family). From nostalgia, we have the adjective 'nostalgic' and the adverb 'nostalgically'. Let's explore different ways of mechanisms to convey this same meaning:

1. Homesick

The term 'nostalgia' is not very common in everyday English. However, the adjective 'homesick' is quite common. It's one of my favourite words and it is really specific. You feel sick when you are far away from your home. Isn't it cool? From the word 'homesick' we have the noun 'homesickness', which can be considered as a synonym for 'nostalgia.'

2. Melancholia

This word isn't common either in everyday English. What is then the difference between 'nostalgia' and 'melancholia'? Well, the term 'melancholia' is somehow linked to a negative feeling of depression. You feel depressed because you miss your homeland. From 'melancholia', we have the adjectives 'melancholic' and the noun 'melancholiac' (a person suffering from melancholia).

3. Wistful 

This word is far more common than 'melancholic'. It is said of a person who is longing for something.

4. Miss

This verb is outstandingly common in English. You miss something or someone when you regret the absence or the loss of something. Thus, you can miss your partner, your family or you can miss doing something, for example, playing with your friends. 

5. Remember (+ -ing)

In familiar English, you can use the verb 'remember' following by the gerund when you recall something in the past. In my case, I fondly remember playing hide-and-seek with my friends. 

6. Yearn for / long for :

You can use these verbs when you have a strong desire to do something. You can yearn for the love of your mother, for example. 'Yearn' is a bit outdated, though.

From the verb 'long' we have the noun 'longing', which means desire. 

7. Regret + -ing / mourn for:

These verbs have negative connotations. They indicate that you are sorry for something you did in the past, something which you can't undo now, for instance, you regret not spending more time with your children when they were little, or you mourn for your dead. 

Well, if you're living abroad and you're homesick, now thanks to this entry you can express that feeling in many different ways. If you want, please have a look at my other entries related to English vocab. See you around.

Toponyms: when a place is the origin of a word (II)

Well, hi again! This week I intend to somehow complete my entry on toponyms that I wrote last week. Well, as I mentioned in the post last week, toponyms are words that originate from the name of a famous place. Last year, we were going through some very interesting examples such as china porcelain, sandwiches from the town of Sandwich, hamburgers (from Hamburg immigrants), canaries from the Canary Islands, Jeans, from the Italian city of Genoa, and the origin of the words lesbian and marathon, both from Greek places. 

In today's entry, I will continue exploring some more surprising toponyms. Ready?

8. Badminton


Well, surprising though it may sound, this sport is indeed a toponym word. Where does it come from? Apparently, it comes from Badminton, a village in Gloucestershire in England where this sport was played. 

9. Brussels sprouts 

This not so tasty (not to say disgusting) vegetable used to be grown near Brussels, hence its name. 

10. Volcano

Well, this word is an eponym and a toponym at the same time. Isn't that amazing? As an eponym, it comes from the Roman God Vulcan, obviously the God of fire. As a toponym, the word volcano is coined after Vulcano, an Italian island with volcanic activity. 

11. Tuxedo

The origin of this word is Tuxedo Park, a place where the socialite used to wear this fancy, smart suit. 

12. Champagne

This sparkling drink reserved to celebrate one's best moments in life borrows the name of a region in France, where this drink is produced. In addition, champagne is said to derive from Latin word 'campania.'

13. Cognac


This alcoholic drink also comes from France, a town in south-west France said to produce the best high-quality cognac. 

14. Food and other products whose name refer to the place where they originated:
- Buffalo wings


- Yorkshire pudding


- Havana cigar


Well, there are thousands of toponyms in the English  language. I've tried to show you the most representative ones. Do you know any others? If so, tell me in a comment!

Toponyms: when a place is the origin of a word (I)

Hiya,

today I would like to show another English quirk may sound familiar to you: toponyms. A toponym is a word that describes the name of a place, for instance, New York is a toponym. However, a toponym is also a word that derives from the name of a place, in other words, a word named after a famous place. I love this quirk, given that the word does not only reflect the name of a country, but somehow some kind of history going back to the time when it was coined. Let's see this with some examples:

1. china

The origin of this word is not very clear but it refers to the country where this porcelain was made. Have you heard the idiom: like a bull in a china shop? 

2. Sandwich

Yummy! Two slices  of bread and... in the middle... delicious stuff! But what is the origin of this well-known food? Apparently, the origin is the Earl of the town of Sandwich. He was gambling and he was hungry... so he 'invented' this 'dish' to keep on gambling!

3. Hamburger

As you know from last week's post about National Hamburger Day, hamburger comes from the city Hamburg, and its origin may date back to some German immigrants in the United States, the hamburg steak. 

4. Canary

This lovely yellow bird receives its name from the Spanish Canary Islands. 

5. Jeans













It may seem that the most common trousers in the world are named after some John inventor, but nothing far from the truth. The origin of jeans goes back to the city of Genoa in Italy, a place where cotton corduroy called jeane, was manufactured. 

6. Marathon

The origin of this fashionable race dates back to the battle of Marathon in Greece. A messenger Pheidippides was the chosen one to announce the Greek's victory over the Persians. He ran the entire distance to deliver their victory, only to die of exhaustion after that. Wow! What a history, don't you think?

7. Lesbian

Well, Greek origin again. The word lesbian comes from the Greek island of Lesbos, whose most famous resident was a female poet who expressed devotion for women. 

Well, did you enjoy my selection of toponyms? Next week I'll continue unveiling some more!  In fact, here you have another post with more toponyms. In the meantime, if you want to keep learning English quirks, do not hesitate and click on this link.

See you next week.