English
desire
Desire comes from Middle English desiren, from Old French desirrer, from Latin dēsīderō ‘to long for’, perhaps from dē sīdere ‘from the stars’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsīderō‘to long for, desire’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400desirrer‘to desire’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500desiren
- Englishearliest quotation 1526desire
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsīderō‘to long for, desire’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400desirrer‘to desire’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500desiren
- Englishearliest quotation 1526desire
Earliest quotation: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “And when they founde no cause of deeth in…”
The story
The verb, along with Old Norse derived want (verb), has mostly replaced native will in modern English.
Linked words
through Latin dē ‘of’
deserve, dice, departmental, dorado, deprive, deduce, 7 more
Today it means
verb To want; to wish for earnestly.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin dēsīderō / desire