From Middle English desire and desiren, from Old French desirer, desirrer, from Latin dēsīderō, apparently from de- + sidus (in the phrase de sidere, "from the stars") in connection with astrological hopes.

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: dĭ-zīrʹ, dĭ-zīʹər, IPA: /dɪˈzaɪə/
• (General American) enPR: dĭ-zīrʹ, dĭ-zīʹər, dē-zīrʹ, dē-zīʹər, IPA: /dɪˈzaɪɹ/, /dɪˈzaɪɚ/, /diˈzaɪɹ/, /diˈzaɪɚ/

desire (desires, present participle desiring; simple past and past participle desired)

1. To want; to wish for earnestly.

   I desire to speak with you.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, Exodus 34:24 ↗:

     Neither shall any man desire thy land.

   • 1874, Alfred Tennyson, “Lancelot and Elaine”, in Idylls of the King (The Works of Alfred Tennyson; VI), cabinet edition, London: Henry S. King & Co., […], →OCLC ↗, page 88 ↗:

     [S]eeing you desire your child to live, / Thanks, but you work against your own desire; […]

2. To put a request to (someone); to entreat.
   • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC ↗, Acts:

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

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter III, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC ↗, page 15 ↗:

     Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired.

3. To want emotionally or sexually.

   She has desired him since they first met.

4. To express a wish for; to entreat; to request.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, 2 Kings 4:28 ↗:

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

   • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act IV, scene vii]:

     Desire him to go in; trouble him no more.

5. To require; to demand; to claim.
   • c. 1580, Edmund Spenser, The Teares of the Muses:

     A doleful case desires a doleful song.

6. To miss; to regret.
   • 1651–1653, Jer[emy] Taylor, ΕΝΙΑΥΤΟΣ [Eniautos]. A Course of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Royston […], published 1655, →OCLC ↗:

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

• desideratum
• desirable
• desirability
• desirableness

• undesirability
• undesirableness
• sidereal

• French: désirer
• German: begehren
• Portuguese: desejar
• Russian: жела́ть
• Spanish: desear

• French: désirer
• German: begehren
• Italian: desiderare, volere
• Portuguese: desejar
• Russian: жела́ть
• Spanish: desear

desire (uncountable)

1. (uncountable) The feeling of desiring; an eager longing for something.

   Too much desire can seriously affect one’s judgment.

   • 1905, E. M. Forster, Where Angels Fear to Tread , chapter 7:

     He stood...filled with the desire that his son should be like him, and should have sons like him, to people the earth. It is the strongest desire that can come to a man - if it comes to him at all - stronger even than love or the desire for personal immortality.

2. (countable) Someone or something wished for.

   It is my desire to speak with you.

   You’re my heart’s desire.

3. (uncountable) Strong attraction, particularly romantic or sexual.

   His desire for her kept him awake at night.

4. (uncountable) Motivation.

• (one or thing wished for) wanna, want-to; See also Thesaurus:desire
• (motivation) wanna, want-to

• desirable
• desiring-production
• desirous

• French: désir
• German: Begehren, Wunsch
• Italian: desiderio, voglia
• Portuguese: desejo
• Russian: охо́та
• Spanish: deseo

• French: désir
• German: Begehren
• Italian: desiderio
• Portuguese: desejo
• Russian: жела́ние
• Spanish: deseo

• French: désir
• German: Begehren
• Italian: desiderio
• Portuguese: desejo
• Russian: жела́ние
• Spanish: deseo, gana