Etymograph

English

desideratum

Desideratum comes from Latin dēsīderātum ‘something that is desired’, and goes back to dēsīderō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsīderō‘to desire, want, wish for’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsīderāre‘to desire’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsīderātum‘something that is desired’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1774desideratum

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsīderō‘to desire, want, wish for’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsīderāre‘to desire’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsīderātum‘something that is desired’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1774desideratum

Earliest quotation: 1774, London: Printed […] for D[avid] Henry: “It having hitherto been a deſideratum to draw ſilver…”

The story

Learned borrowing from Latin dēsīderātum (‘something that is desired’), neuter nominative singular of dēsīderātus, the passive past participle of dēsīderāre (‘to desire’), from dēsīderō (‘to desire, want, wish for’), from de- (intensifying prefix) + possibly sīdus (‘star; constellation’) though the connection is unclear.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. The English word is cognate with French desideratum, Spanish desiderátum. The plural is derived from Latin dēsīderāta.

Linked words

through Latin sīdus ‘star’

sidereal, 2 more

through Latin dēsīderō ‘to desire, want, wish for’

desire, desirous, 1 more

Today it means

noun Something that is wished for, or considered desirable, particularly when thought to be essential.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin dēsīderō / desideratum

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