Jump to content

appetite

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Middle English appetit, from Old French apetit (French appétit), from Latin appetitus, from appetere (“to strive after, long for”); ad + petere (“to seek”). See petition, and compare with appetence.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

appetite (countable and uncountable, plural appetites)

  1. A desire to eat food or consume drinks.
    • 1904, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of Black Peter:
      And I return with an excellent appetite. There can be no question, my dear Watson, of the value of exercise before breakfast.
    • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
      The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite. There is something humiliating about it.
    • 1985, Susan Mullane, “Going for some gusto in the kitchen”, in National Fisherman‎[1], page 78:
      Though the breweries were forced to shut down, the dry spell did little more than whet the public's appetite for beer: Records show that within the first 24 hours after Congress lifted the ban [Prohibition] in 1933, Americans guzzled 1 million barrels of the stuff.
    • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Biotics: Life as a Biotic Codex entry:
      Biotics possess extraordinary abilities, but they must live with minor inconveniences. The most obvious issue is getting adequate nutrition. Creating biotic mass effects takes such a toll on metabolism that active biotics develop ravenous appetites. The standard Alliance combat ration for a soldier is 3000 calories per day; biotics are given 4500, as well as a canteen of potent energy drink for quick refreshment after hard combat.
  2. Any strong desire; an eagerness or longing.
    • 1678, Antiquitates Christianæ: Or, the History of the Life and Death of the Holy Jesus: […], London: […] E. Flesher, and R. Norton, for R[ichard] Royston, […], →OCLC:
      If God had given to eagles an appetite to swim.
    • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter IX, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
      To gratify the vulgar appetite for the marvellous.
    • 2026 March 18, Chris Conway talks to Andy Comfort, “The RAIL Interview”, in RAIL, number 1057, page 33:
      Conway says there had long been an outline plan to build a new station in Belfast, to replace Great Victoria Street station, but also to bring the Europa bus station into that to create a fully integrated transport hub. The team soon realised that there was a real appetite for this among the public of Northern Ireland, as well as a desire to include active travel, such as more cycle parking and better pedestrian access.
  3. The desire for some personal gratification, either of the body or of the mind.
    appetite for reading
    • [1594], Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn Windet, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page):
      The object of appetite is whatsoever sensible good may be wished for; the object of will is that good which reason does lead us to seek.

Synonyms

[edit]
The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. For synonyms and antonyms you may use the templates {{syn|en|...}} or {{ant|en|...}}.

Derived terms

[edit]

Translations

[edit]
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Further reading

[edit]

Italian

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

appetite

  1. inflection of appetire:
    1. second-person plural present indicative
    2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 2

[edit]

Participle

[edit]

appetite f pl

  1. feminine plural of appetito

Latin

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

appetite

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of appetō
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=appetite&oldid=91309995"