desire

Etymology

From Middle English desire (noun) and desiren (verb), from Old French desirer, desirrer, from Latin dēsīderō (“to long for, desire, feel the want of, miss, regret”), apparently from de- + sidus (in the phrase de sidere, "from the stars") in connection with astrological hopes. Compare consider and desiderate. Displaced native Old English wilnung (“desire”) and wilnian (“to desire”).

verb

1. To want; to wish for earnestly.
   I desire to speak with you.
2. To put a request to (someone); to entreat.
3. To want emotionally or sexually.
   She has desired him since they first met.
4. To express a wish for; to entreat; to request.
5. To require; to demand; to claim.
   A doleful case desires a doleful song. c. 1580, Edmund Spenser, The Teares of the Muses
6. To miss; to regret.

noun

1. (countable) Someone or something wished for.
   It is my desire to speak with you.
   You’re my heart’s desire.
   It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: perhaps out of a desire to escape the gravity of this world or to get a preview of the next; […]. 2013-06-07, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36
2. (uncountable) Strong attraction, particularly romantic or sexual.
   His desire for her kept him awake at night.
3. (uncountable) The feeling of desiring; an eager longing for something.
   Too much desire can seriously affect one’s judgment.
4. (uncountable) Motivation.