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15 Unusual Travel Words with Beautiful Meanings


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We live and breathe words. They convey our thoughts and feelings. Sometimes when we try to explain our travel experiences, we are a loss for words. Yes, travel does that to us. Travel mesmerizes us with its beauty and adventure and makes us feel a myriad of emotions that we have never felt before. Incidentally there are quite a few words that convey these feelings and emotions beautifully and perfectly. Check these unusual travel words with beautiful meanings. Ok, these are the words with no English equivalent, so get ready to add these amazing words in your vocab.

Unusual Travel Words with Beautiful Meanings

1. Resfeber

Origin – Swedish

Definition: The tangled feelings of fear and excitement before a journey begins.

Ah! The nervous excitement as you pack your bags. Experienced that?

Resfeber

2. Novaturient

Origin – Latin

Definition: A desire to alter your life, the feeling that pushes you to travel.

This is something which all ardent travelers experience from time to time.

3. Trouvaille

Origin – French

Definition: Something lovely discovered by chance.

We discovered a quaint little shop that sold Fab India kind of stuff on our way to Sonapani and we went crazy shopping there.

4. Hygge

Origin – Danish

Definition: The cozy feeling of relaxing with friends while having a meal or drinks.

Unwinding with friends at the end of the day is the best part of my vacations.

Hygge

5. Onism

Origin – Danish

Definition: The awareness of how little of the world you’ll experience.

So many beautiful places to visit, so little time.

Onism

6. Selcouth

Origin – Old English

Definition: Strange and uncommon, the way you see things when you travel.

Everything seems different and foreign when you see them with new eyes.

7. Waldeinsamkeit

Origin – German

Definition: The feeling of being alone in the woods.

This reminded me of the tranquility and walking peacefully with myself in a jungle trail at Shoghi.

Waldeinsamkeit

8. Sehnsucht

Origin – German

Definition: A wistful longing for travels that have been and travels to come

Ah! Another emotion that most of us can relate to.

9. Fernweh

Origin – Latin/French

Definition: Feeling homesick for a place you’ve never been.

I love this word because it puts a name to a feeling I’ve never before been able to describe.

Fernweh

10. Sonder

Origin – Unknown

Definition: The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.

Fundamentally, we are all the same, everywhere, if only we realize that!

11. Numinous

Origin – Latin

Definition: The powerful, personal feeling of being overwhelmed and inspired.

Every breathtaking view brings this in us and it leaves us with that warm happy feeling.

Numinous

12. Dérive

Origin – Latin/French

Definition: To drift unplanned, led only by the landscape.

Have you done this?

Dérive

13. Vagary

Origin – Latin

Definition: A wandering or roaming journey.

Most of our journeys have been like this.

Vagary

14. Eudaimonia

Origin – Greek

Definition: The contented, happy state you feel when you travel.

I would give anything to experience this feeling, NOW!

Eudaimonia

15. Solivagant

Origin – Latin

Definition: Wandering alone.

Does this define you?

Have you heard any of these travel words before? Which is your favorite? Do you have one to add to the list? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

26 Responses

  1. Your best post so far (for me) Shilpa. I was in a state of “Eudaimonia” while I was reading these wonderful words and solivagant and happy too:)
    A friend uses hugge, especially when she’s had a crazy term at school and she’s on her half-term break and she’s had a few friends over for a meal. She’s a teacher.
    Am very familiar with the essence of resfeber, even if it’s the first time I’ve seen this word.
    Thank you for a wonderful, wonderful post.
    V is for Vintage

  2. HaHaHa. I want to use another ‘German sentence. ich hasse das Reisen. I am not that person. The meaning is “I hate travelling”.

  3. Beautiful words, hardly used in routine life. Huge list and interesting too. Those has filled my dictionary now. Thanks for such a wonderful info. Unique info you shared. Keep sharing

  4. Nos. 1,2,4,5,7,9, 11, 13 and 15…I can relate to these.
    I remember doing such a post of unusual words last year. It was really interesting and entertaining, as is this post! 🙂

  5. Loved reading this. I truly love such words. But i knew another meaning of ‘Sehnsucht’ … May be it has different interpretations in different contexts.

    Reema is doing posts on such beautiful words… Enjoying that too….

  6. Some great words here, the only one we really knew was, Trouvaille, the reason we knew this one, was because we discovered a little town in France, by accident, that we fell in love with, and ended up living there for 5 years! Novaturient is something we feel often, and which has led us to live in Portugal

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