at and t cellular: Word of the Day: Saudade

Monday, December 25, 2023

Monday, December 25, 2023

Saudade

noun

1. A feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia that is supposedly characteristic of the Portuguese or Brazilian temperament.

"On the first warm day of every year, Elena is overwhelmed with saudade for her childhood home in Brazil."

"The Portuguese musical genre fado combines acoustic guitar with soaring, melancholy vocals full of saudade."

"My Brazilian grandmother told me she wasn't sad, she was saudade."

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Portuguese, early 20th century

There's no English equivalent for "saudade," a loanword from Portuguese that describes a feeling of melancholic longing and missing something or someone. Both Portuguese and Portuguese-speaking Brazilian cultures have the reputation of being full of sad emotions or nostalgic longings for things and people long past. ...