Wiktionary

appetite

English

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Etymology

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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

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Noun

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appetite (countable and uncountable, plural appetites)

  1. Desire to eat food or consume drink.
    • 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.
  3. The desire for some personal gratification, either of the body or of the mind.
    appetite for reading
    • 1594–1597, Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, →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

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Further reading

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Italian

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Etymology 1

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Verb

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appetite

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

Etymology 2

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Participle

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appetite f pl

  1. feminine plural of appetito

Latin

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Verb

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appetite

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of appetō
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