English edit

Pronunciation edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Middle English yerning, from Old English ġierning, ġierninge. Equivalent to the gerund (yearn + -ing). yearn comes from Proto-West Germanic *girnijan, from Proto-Germanic *girnijaną, from *gernaz (eager, willing) + *-janą, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- (to yearn for).

Noun edit

yearning (plural yearnings)

  1. A wistful or melancholy longing.
    She had a yearning to see her long-lost sister again.
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Verb edit

yearning

  1. present participle and gerund of yearn

Etymology 2 edit

PIE word
*ḱóm

From earlier yerning, from Middle English yernyng, erning, renning. From Old English rynning and gerunnen, geurnen (run together, coagulated, curdled), past participles of gerinnan, geirnan, respectively. Influenced by Middle English yern (to (cause to) coagulate or curdle), Old English iernan (to run, flow), metathesized forms derived from the same origin. From verbal prefix ge- + rinnan (to run). First element is from Proto-West Germanic *ga-, from Proto-Germanic *ga-, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (with, by); second element is from Proto-Germanic *rinnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃r̥-néw-ti, from *h₃er- (to move). Doublet of rennet, run.

Noun edit

yearning (countable and uncountable, plural yearnings)

  1. (Scotland, archaic) rennet (an enzyme to curdle milk in order to make cheese).
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