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Origin and history of longing

longing(n.)

"yearning, eager desire, craving," Old English langung "longing, weariness, sadness, dejection," verbal noun from long (v.).

2. Specifically, in pathol., one of the peculiar and often whimsical desires experienced by pregnant women. [Century Dictionary, 1899]

longing(adj.)

early 15c. (implied in longingly), present-participle adjective from long (v.).

also from early 15c.

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Entries linking to longing

long(v.)

Middle English longen, from Old English langian "to yearn after, grieve for," literally "to grow long, lengthen," from Proto-Germanic *langojan, which probably is connected with the root of long (adj.). Cognate with Old Norse langa, Old Saxon langon, Middle Dutch langhen, Old High German langen "to long," German verlangen "to desire." Related: Longed; longing.

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love-longing(n.)

c. 1300, luue langing, from love (n.) + longing (n.).

    Trends of longing

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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    hanker
    c. 1600, "linger in expectation;" 1640s, "have a longing or craving for," of unknown origin....If so, the notion is of "lingering about" with longing or craving....
    desiderata
    nativized in Middle English: desiderable "wished for, desired" (mid-14c.), also "worthy of being admired;" desideracioun "longing...Also compare obsolete desiderate "feel a desire or longing for" (1640s)....
    mange
    caused by mites, c. 1400, manjeue, maniewe, from Old French manjue, mangeue "the itch," also "hunger, appetite; itching, longing...
    aspiration
    The meaning "steadfast longing for a higher goal, earnest desire for something above one" is recorded from c. 1600 (sometimes...
    libido
    Selected Papers on Hysteria" (Freud's use of the term led to its popularity); from Latin libido, lubido "desire, eagerness, longing...
    hunger
    In late Old English also "desire with longing."...
    list
    archaic, mid-12c., lusten, listen "to please, desire," from Old English lystan "to please, cause pleasure or desire, provoke longing...
    want
    c. 1200, "to be lacking," from Old Norse vanta "to lack, want," earlier *wanaton, from Proto-Germanic *wanen, from PIE *weno-, suffixed form of root *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out." The meaning "desire, wish for, feel the need of" is recorded by 1706....c. 1200, "deficiency,
    languish
    early 14c., "fail in strength, exhibit signs of approaching death," from languiss-, present participle stem of Old French languir "be listless, pine, grieve, fall ill" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *languire, from Latin languere "be weak or faint" (from PIE root *sleg- "be slack, be
    ache
    Middle English aken, from Old English acan "suffer continued pain," from Proto-Germanic *akanan, which is perhaps from a PIE root *ag-es- "fault, guilt," with apparent cognates in Sanskrit and Greek, which itself is perhaps imitative of groaning. Originally the verb was pronounce
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    Dictionary entries near longing