Meanings
nounsaudade (uncountable)
- uncountableA feeling of melancholy and wistful yearning for something that is absent, impossible or lost.
I have the feeling, from using the word as a first language speaker, that saudade conveys a bit more feeling, a bit more sorrow, a bit more longing than “I miss you”.
2019 January 30, Naty, “Dear gringos, the Portuguese word “Saudade” doesn’t mean what you make it sound like”, in Naty's Bookshelf, archived from the original on 11 Apr 2021
Origin
- Latinsōlus
- Latinsōlitās
- Late Latinsōlitātem
- Old Galician-Portuguesesoydade, soedade, suydade
- Old Galician-Portuguesesaudarinflu.
- Old Galician-Portuguesesaudadeinflu.
- Portuguesesaudade
- Englishsaudade
Borrowed from Portuguese saudade.
More words from Portuguese
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
saudade. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saudade
MLA
“saudade.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saudade. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “saudade,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saudade.
Source: saudade on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.