Fernweh
Etymology
A German compound: fern ("far") + Weh ("woe, ache"). It was coined as a deliberate mirror image of Heimweh, "home-ache" (homesickness). So the word is literally "far-sickness" — aching not for home but for the distant.
noun · /FERN-vey/
A longing to be somewhere far away — the ache to travel; the opposite of homesickness.
What it names
The restlessness of wanting to be elsewhere, anywhere distant — literally "farsickness."
Example
One gray Tuesday the fernweh hit hard, and he spent lunch pricing flights to nowhere in particular.
Related idea
Wanderlust is the cheerful urge to roam; Fernweh is the ache of not being far away. Contrast hiraeth.
See also