desire

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an inclination to want things

   They were known to have many desires.

2. 2
   verb

   To want; to wish for earnestly.

   I desire to speak with you.

3. 3
   verb

   To put a request to (someone); to entreat.

   And when they founde no cause of deeth in hym, yet desired they Pilate to kyll him.

4. 4
   verb

   To want emotionally or sexually.

   She has desired him since they first met.

5. 5
   verb

   To express a wish for; to entreat; to request.

   Then shee said, Did I desire a sonne of my Lord ? did I not say, Doe not deceiue me?

6. 6
   verb

   To require; to demand; to claim.

   A doleful case desires a doleful song.

7. 7
   verb

   To miss; to regret.

   She shall be pleasant while she lives, and desired when she dies.

8. 8
   noun

   The feeling of desiring; an eager longing for something.

   Too much desire can seriously affect one’s judgement.

Etymology

From Middle English desir, 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. The verb, along with Old Norse derived want (verb), has mostly replaced native will in modern English.