thirst
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ters-
Proto-Indo-European *-tus
Proto-Indo-European *térstus
Proto-Germanic *þurstuz
Proto-West Germanic *þurstu
Old English þurst
Old English þyrstaninflu.
Middle English thirst
English thirst
From Middle English thirst, thurst, from Old English þurst, from Proto-West Germanic *þurstu, from Proto-Germanic *þurstuz, from Proto-Indo-European *ters- (“dry”).
Germanic cognates include Old High German thurst, Middle High German durst, German Durst, Old Saxon thurst, Old Dutch thursti, Middle Dutch dorst, dorste, Dutch dorst, Old Norse þorsti (Swedish törst, Icelandic þorsti, Faroese tosti, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål tørst, Norwegian Nynorsk tørste). Indo-European cognates include Ancient Greek τέρσομαι (térsomai), Albanian djersë (“sweat”), Sanskrit तृष्णा (tṛṣṇā, “desire; thirst”), Sanskrit तृष्यति (tṛ́ṣyati), Latin terra, Latin torridus.
Inflected forms:
form: thirsts
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: thirsts
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: thirsting
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: thirsted
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: thirsted
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: A sensation of dryness in the throat associated with a craving for liquids, produced by deprivation of drink, or by some other cause (such as fear, excitement, etc.) which stops the secretion of the pharyngeal mucous membrane.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: We developed a great thirst during our hike.
He had quite a thirst on and so headed to his favourite Dublin pub.
gloss: The condition producing the sensation of thirst.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: If you go out in the desert for long without water, the thirst can drive you mad.
"We haven't one chance for life in a hundred thousand if we don't find food and water upon Caprona. This water coming out of the cliff is not salt; but neither is it fit to drink, though each of us has drunk. It is fair to assume that inland the river is fed by pure streams, that there are fruits and herbs and game. Shall we lie out here and die of thirst and starvation with a land of plenty possibly only a few hundred yards away? We have the means for navigating a subterranean river. Are we too cowardly to utilize this means?"
gloss: A want and eager desire (for something); a craving or longing.
pos: noun
tags: countable
figuratively
uncountable
examples: She had a real thirst for news and that greatly helped her career.
gloss: Sexual lust.
pos: noun
tags: countable
figuratively
uncountable
examples: He had a thirst for her and she had the same for him.
gloss: To be thirsty.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: The people thirsted there for water.
gloss: To desire vehemently.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
usually
examples: I thirst for knowledge and education will sate me.
to be thirsted for one's blood
My soul thirsteth for […] the living God.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Synonyms: craving
longing
Related words: hunger
Derived words: athirst
bloodthirst
thirst-buster
thirster
thirstful
thirstland
thirstless
thirst-quenching
thirst snake
thirst trap
thirsty
thirstingly
unthirsting
Translations: