To expand a bit on George's first example, the condition was actually first identifed and described in literature thousands of years ago (Gilgamesh, Herodotus, Hippocrates, the Ramayana, etc.). It wasn't until the 1600s when a Swiss physician gave the condition a name: 'nostalgia'. And that was the name still in use when the ailment was described during the US Civil War. - prh, ed. |