The word saudade comes from the Latin word sōlitās, which means "loneliness" or "solitude".  The Latin root sōlitātem (solitude) first evolved into archaic forms of Old Galician-Portuguese like soidade, soedade, or suidade by the 13th century.  Over time, these older forms transformed into saudade.  Linguists note this irregular phonetic change was heavily influenced by association with the verb saudar (to greet or wish good health) and related terms.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the word saudade has been documented in English since 1912, famously popularized by Aubrey F. G. Bell in his book In Portugal to describe a vague, constant desire or yearning for something absent.

1 hour ago, drpaladin said:

I hesitated at typing saudade. Inevitably predictive text will dump out saudade biscuits.

Okay you guys, this is all going downhill for me, pretty fast. I don't even want to type the word. Gibberish comes to mind. So I will end this with:

gobbledygook-

Gobbledygook is confusing, long-winded, or overly technical language that is hard for regular people to understand.

No offense is meant to any of our Portuguese writers/readers.

Just the facts:

I gave up trying to use a dictionary for today's,  Word of the Day.

The Portuguese word "saudade" describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic longing for something or someone absent, often with the bittersweet knowledge that the object of longing might never return. While often considered untranslatable, it can be approximated by concepts like yearning, missing, or bittersweet nostalgia.

The Nuance of Saudade

• More than just missing: Saudade is a profound feeling, distinct from simply "missing someone," often carrying a sense of emptiness or a desire to relive past memories. "Saudade is a more powerful feeling than 'longing for' something/someone. It can come with a feeling of emptiness, of things that have long passed, things that once made part of you and now are missing."r/Portuguese

• Cultural significance: The word holds a special place in Portuguese and Brazilian culture, frequently appearing in poetry and music, giving it an "aura" of uniqueness. "But we are probably very attached to this word saudade, as someone else explained, because it's very used in poetry and music."r/languagelearningjerk

• Common usage varies: While some describe it as a deep, metaphysical yearning, Brazilians also use "saudade" in everyday contexts to mean simply "I miss you." "This metaphysical, out-of-the-world feeling you associate to the word 'saudade' is not commonly used, tbh is very rare and goes like 'saudades de algo que eu não sei', which translate something like 'I miss something which I don't know what it is'."r/Soulnexus

Untranslatability Debate

• No single English equivalent: There isn't one perfect English word that captures all the nuances of saudade in every context. "There is no single word in English that perfectly translates saudades in all contexts, but that doesn't mean it isn't translatable."r/Portuguese

• Cultural context is key: Translating saudade often requires using multiple words or adapting the context to convey its full meaning in another language. "You can translate 'saudade', sure, but in most languages, you need to use more words to convey the same idea or adapt the context a bit."r/reclamacoesfuteis

• Myth of uniqueness: Some Redditors argue that the idea of saudade being uniquely untranslatable is an exaggeration, suggesting it's similar to how some German words are presented as special when they are just compounds. "I think all this romance around the word was just a game of telephone on the internet, which always exaggerates things."