Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “desire” come from?

Desire comes from Middle English desiren, from Old French desirrer, from Latin desiderāre, composed of the prefix de- and Latin de, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European de.

desire (English): To want; to wish for earnestly; To put a request...

Definitions

  1. To want; to wish for earnestly; To put a request...

Ancestry of “desire”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishdesirdesire
2Old FrenchdesirerAlternative form of desirrer
3Latindēsīderō—
4Latinsider-—

Words derived from “desire”

  • desiring
  • desirability
  • desireth
  • desirest
  • undesirability
  • desirably
  • desirer
  • desireless
  • desirelessness
  • desireful
  • undesiring
  • undesire
  • nondesire
  • desirefulness
  • desirive
  • laŭdezire
  • dezirinda
  • deziregi
  • deziri
  • dezirinda
  • deziregar
Every word from Latin sider- →