desire
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English desire (noun) and desiren (verb), from Old French desirer, desirrer, from Latin dēsīderō (“to long for, desire, feel the want of, miss, regret”), apparently from de- + sidus (in the phrase de sidere, "from the stars") in connection with astrological hopes. Compare consider. Compare also desiderate.
PronunciationEdit
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: dĭ-zīrʹ, dĭ-zīʹər, IPA(key): /dɪˈzaɪə/
- (General American) enPR: dĭ-zīrʹ, dĭ-zīʹər, dē-zīrʹ, dē-zīʹər, IPA(key): /dɪˈzaɪɹ/, /dɪˈzaɪɚ/, /diˈzaɪɹ/, /diˈzaɪɚ/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)
- Hyphenation: de‧sire
VerbEdit
desire (third-person singular simple present desires, present participle desiring, simple past and past participle desired)
- To want; to wish for earnestly.
- I desire to speak with you.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Exodus 34:24:
- Neither shall any man desire thy land.
- 1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Expression error: Unrecognized word "lancelot".”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], OCLC 911789798, Expression error: Unrecognized word "lancelot"./mode/1up page Lancelot and Elaine:
- Ye desire your child to live.
- To put a request to (someone); to entreat.
- 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Acts XIII:
- And when they founde no cause of deeth in hym, yet desired they Pilate to kyll him.
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 2, in The Mirror and the Lamp[1]:
- That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired.
- 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Acts XIII:
- To want emotionally or sexually.
- She has desired him since they first met.
- To express a wish for; to entreat; to request.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, 2 Kings 4:28:
- Then shee said, Did I desire a sonne of my Lord ? did I not say, Doe not deceiue me?
- c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act 4, scene 7]:
- Desire him to go in; trouble him no more.
- To require; to demand; to claim.
- c. 1580, Edmund Spenser, The Teares of the Muses
- A doleful case desires a doleful song.
- c. 1580, Edmund Spenser, The Teares of the Muses
- To miss; to regret.
- 1673, Jeremy Taylor, Heniaytos: A Course of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year […]
- She shall be pleasant while she lives, and desired when she dies.
- 1673, Jeremy Taylor, Heniaytos: A Course of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year […]
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
desire — see want
wish for earnestly
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want emotionally or sexually
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NounEdit
desire (usually uncountable, plural desires)
- (countable) Someone or something wished for.
- 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
- It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: perhaps out of a desire to escape the gravity of this world or to get a preview of the next; […].
- It is my desire to speak with you.
- You’re my heart’s desire.
- (uncountable) Strong attraction, particularly romantic or sexual.
- His desire for her kept him awake at night.
- (uncountable) The feeling of desiring; an eager longing for something.
- Too much desire can seriously affect one’s judgment.
- (uncountable) Motivation. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
SynonymsEdit
- (one or thing wished for): wanna, want-to; See also Thesaurus:desire
- (motivation): wanna, want-to
TranslationsEdit
something wished for
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strong attraction
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feeling of desire
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
See alsoEdit
Related termsEdit
Further readingEdit
- desire in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- desire in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
AnagramsEdit
ItalianEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old Occitan dezire.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
desire m (plural desiri)
Related termsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- desire in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
Middle EnglishEdit
NounEdit
desire
- desire
- 1470–1483 (date produced), [Thomas Malory], [Le Morte Darthur] (British Library Additional Manuscript 59678), [England: s.n.], folio 35, recto, lines 27–29:
- and ſo Merlyon wente forthe vnto kyng lodegean of Camylerde and tolde hym of the deſire of the kyng that þt he wolde haue vnto his wyff Gwenyu[er] his douȝt[er]
- (please add an English translation of this quote)
DescendantsEdit
- English: desire