desire

English Online Dictionary. What means desire‎? What does desire mean?

English

Etymology

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 and desiderate. Displaced native Old English wilnung (“desire”) and wilnian (“to desire”).

Pronunciation

• (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/
• Hyphenation: de‧sire
• Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)

Verb

desire (third-person singular simple present desires, present participle desiring, simple past and past participle desired)

1. To want; to wish for earnestly.
2. To put a request to (someone); to entreat.
3. To want emotionally or sexually.

4. To express a wish for; to entreat; to request.
5. To require; to demand; to claim.
6. To miss; to regret.

Conjugation

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

desire (usually uncountable, plural desires)

1. (uncountable) The feeling of desiring; an eager longing for something.
2. (countable) Someone or something wished for.
3. (uncountable) Strong attraction, particularly romantic or sexual.

4. (uncountable) Motivation. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Synonyms

• (one or thing wished for): wanna, want-to; See also Thesaurus:desire
• (motivation): wanna, want-to

Derived terms

Related terms

• desirable
• desiring-production
• desirous

Translations

See also

• velleity

Further reading

• “desire”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “desire”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Seider, desier, eiders, eresid, redies, reside

Italian

Alternative forms

• desiro
• disire, disiro

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Occitan dezire.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /deˈzi.re/
• Rhymes: -ire
• Hyphenation: de‧sì‧re

Noun

desire m (plural desiri)

1. (poetic, archaic) desire

   Synonym: desiderio

Related terms

• desio
• desirare

Further reading

• desire in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• derise, resedi, risedé, sederi

Middle English

Noun

desire

1. desire

Descendants

• English: desire

Romanian

Etymology

From desi +‎ -re.

Noun

desire f (plural desiri)

1. thickening

Declension

References

• desire in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN