appetite

B1 Topic:Food & Drink

Also spelled appetising and appetities

US /ˈæp.əˌtaɪt/ UK /ˈæp.ɪ.taɪt/ See IPA manual

Freq #5012

Meanings

1

noun
The desire to eat food.

After the long walk, I had a huge appetite.
2

noun
A strong desire or eagerness for something.

She has a real appetite for adventure.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · a strong desire or... appetence

More appetency craving desire longing passion

Word family

Forms appetitesappetizing

Derived forms appetitedappetitelessappetitive appetizerappetizingappetizingly

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

rapacious appetite
an intense and greedy hunger for large amounts of food

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Appetite came into Middle English through Old French from Latin appetitus, “desire for.” Appetitus derives from appetere, meaning “to seek after,” so the word developed from the ideas of seeking and desire.

Etymology

From Middle English appetit, from Old French apetit (French appétit), from Latin appetitus, from appetere (“to strive after, long for”); ad + petere (“to seek”). See petition, and compare with appetence.

*peth₂- Proto-Indo-European appetit Middle English apetit Old French appetitus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Food & Drink

External links

# appetite

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈæp.əˌtaɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈæp.ɪ.taɪt/
**Frequency rank:** 5012

## Meanings
1. The desire to eat food.
2. A strong desire or eagerness for something.

## Examples
- After the long walk, I had a huge appetite.
- She has a real appetite for adventure.

## Synonyms
- appetency
- craving
- desire
- longing
- passion

## Derived Forms
- appetited
- appetiteless
- appetitive
- appetizer
- appetizing
- appetizingly

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *peth₂-
- Root: appetit
- Root: apetit
- Root: appetitus

## Etymology
From Middle English appetit, from Old French apetit (French appétit), from Latin appetitus, from appetere (“to strive after, long for”); ad + petere (“to seek”). See petition, and compare with appetence.

## AI Etymology
Appetite comes from Middle English appetit, from Old French apetit (French appétit), from Latin appetitus, from appetere (“to strive after, long for”); ad plus petere (“to seek”). Compare petition, and compare with appetence. The historical line also includes Proto-Indo-European *peth₂-. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix.

## Topics
- Food & Drink

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