Saudade (, , , ; plural saudades) is an emotional state of melancholic or profoundly nostalgic longing for a beloved yet absent something or someone. It is often associated with a repressed understanding that one might never encounter the recipient of longing ever again. It is a recollection of feelings, experiences, places, or events that cause a sense of separation from the exciting, pleasant, or joyous sensations they once caused. It derives from the Latin word for solitude. Nascimento and Meandro (2005) cite Duarte Nunes Leão's definition of saudade: "Memory of something with a desire for it." In Brazil, the day of Saudade is officially celebrated on 30 January. It is not a widely acknowledged day in Portugal. History Saudade ultimately derives from the Latin solitās, solitātem, meaning "solitude" . The word saudade was used in the Cancioneiro da Ajuda (13th century), in the Cancioneiro da Vaticana and by poets of the time of King Denis of Portugal (reigned 1279–1325). Some specialists argue that the word may have originated during the Great Portuguese Discoveries, expressing and giving meaning to the sadness felt about those who departed on journeys to unknown seas and often disappeared in shipwrecks, died in battle, or simply never returned. Those who stayed behind—mostly women and children—suffered deeply in their absence. However, the Portuguese discoveries only started in 1415, and since the word has been found in earlier texts, this does not constitute a very good explanation. The Reconquista also offers a plausible explanation. The state of mind has subsequently become a "Portuguese way of life": a constant feeling of absence, the sadness of something that's missing, wistful longing for completeness or wholeness and the yearning for the return of what is now gone, a desire for presence as opposed to absence—as it is said in Portuguese, a strong desire to matar as saudades (lit. to kill the saudades). In the latter half of the 20th century, saudade became associated with the longing for one's homeland, as hundreds of thousands of Portuguese-speaking people left in search of better futures in South America, North America, and Western Europe. Besides the implications derived from a wave of emigration trend from the motherland, historically speaking saudade is the term associated with the decline of Portugal's role in world politics and trade. During the so-called "Golden Age", synonymous with the era of discovery, Portugal rose to the status of a world