Yearn \Yearn\, v. i. [OE. yernen, [yogh]ernen,
[yogh]eornen, AS. geornian, gyrnan, fr. georn desirous, eager; akin
to OS. gern desirous, girnean, gernean, to desire, D. gaarne
gladly, willingly, G. gern, OHG. gerno, adv., gern, a., G. gier
greed, OHG. gir[imac] greed, ger desirous, ger[=o]n to desire, G.
begehren, Icel. girna to desire, gjarn eager, Goth.
fa['i]huga['i]rns covetous, ga['i]rnjan to desire, and perhaps to
Gr. chai`rein to rejoice, be glad, Skr. hary to desire, to like.
[root]33.] To be filled with longing desire; to be harassed or
rendered uneasy with longing, or feeling the want of a thing; to
strain with emotions of affection or tenderness; to long; to be
eager. [1913 Webster] Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn
upon his brother; and he sought where to weep. --Gen. xliii.
[1913 Webster] Your mother's heart yearns towards
you. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
Yearn \Yearn\ (y[~e]rn), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
Yearned; p. pr. &
vb. n. Yearning.] [Also
earn, ern; probably a corruption of OE. ermen to grieve, AS.
ierman, yrman, or geierman, geyrman, fr. earm wretched, poor; akin
to D. & G. arm, Icel. armr, Goth. arms. The y- in English is
perhaps due to the AS. ge (see Y-).] To pain; to
grieve; to vex. [Obs.] "She laments, sir, for it, that it would
yearn your heart to see it." --Shak. [1913 Webster] It yearns me
not if men my garments wear. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
Yearn \Yearn\, v. i. To be pained or distressed;
to grieve; to mourn. [Obs.] "Falstaff he is dead, and we must yearn
therefore." --Shak. [1913 Webster]
Word Net
yearnVerb
2 have a desire for something or someone who is
not present; "She ached for a cigarette"; "I am pining for my
lover" [syn: ache, yen, pine, languish]
3 have affection for; feel tenderness for
Moby Thesaurus
ache, covet, crave, desire, dream, fancy, hanker, hunger, itch, long, lust, pant, pine, prefer, thirst, want, wish, yenEnglish
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɜː(r)n
Verb
- In the context of "intransitive|construed with for": To have a
strong, melancholy desire (for something).
- All I yearn for is a simple life.