homesick
UK[ˈhəʊm.sɪk]US[ˈhoʊm.sɪk]
adj
sad or ill because you are away from home and missing your family and friends very much.
Morpheme Breakdown
home
sick
home
dwelling, house, estate, village
sick
ill, unwell, afflicted
Etymology
the word "homesick" is a transparent compound formed from two old english roots. "home" originates from proto-germanic haimaz, referring to a village or world, and "sick" from proto-germanic seukaz, meaning ill. the term was coined in english in the late 16th to early 17th century, directly combining these elements to describe the physical and emotional distress caused by longing for one's familiar home environment. it exemplifies a common germanic pattern of creating descriptive compound adjectives, where the state of being "sick for home" is conveyed literally and effectively. this logical construction has remained semantically stable, capturing a universal human experience.
Analysis
Structure: home + sick
home (old english, meaning "dwelling, house, estate, village") + sick (old english, meaning "ill, unwell, afflicted")
Examples
after only a week at summer camp, the child felt terribly homesick.
living abroad for the first time, she was often overcome with homesick feelings during the holidays.
he called his parents every day to ease his homesick heart.