thirst
[thurst]
- a sensation of dryness in the mouth and throat caused by need of liquid.
- the physical condition resulting from this need, in any of various degrees: They almost died of thirst.
- strong or eager desire; craving: a thirst for knowledge.
- to feel thirst; be thirsty.
- to have a strong desire.
Origin of thirst
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for thirst
Contemporary Examples
Petty, shade, and thirst are my favorite human “virtues” and the trifecta of any good series of “stories.”
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera TwistJudnick Mayard
January 8, 2015
This spatial displacement reveals your thirst for freedom, your desire for openness and to break with the protest novel.
The hunger usually subsides quickly, but thirst sometimes causes serious pain.
In North Carolina, they let a 54-year-old untreated schizophrenic die of thirst after 35 days in solitary confinement.
In response, voters thought voting for Madison was inconsistent with their thirst for free booze.
Historical Examples
Our allies are the millions who hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Never again will the insatiable thirst of the fire-fiend be so pampered.
Earth's Holocaust (From "Mosses From An Old Manse")Nathaniel Hawthorne
In these terms did Mr Verloc declare his thirst for revenge.
The Secret AgentJoseph Conrad
On the present occasion, his native powers were stimulated by the thirst of revenge.
The Last of the MohicansJames Fenimore Cooper
Mr. Clawbonny, it is a desert, but we shant die of thirst in it at any rate.
The Field of IceJules Verne
thirst
- a craving to drink, accompanied by a feeling of dryness in the mouth and throat
- an eager longing, craving, or yearninga thirst for knowledge
- (intr) to feel a thirstto thirst for a drink; to thirst after righteousness
Word Origin
Old English thyrstan, from thurst thirst; related to Old Norse thyrsta to thirst, Old High German dursten to thirst, Latin torrēre to parch
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for thirst
n.
Old English þurst, from West Germanic *thurstus (cf. Old Saxon thurst, Frisian torst, Dutch dorst, Old High German and German durst), from Proto-Germanic *thurs-, from PIE root *ters- "dry" (see terrain). Figurative sense of "vehement desire" is attested from c.1200.
v.
Old English þyrstan (see thirst (n.)); the figurative sense of the verb was present in Old English. Related: Thirsted; thirsting.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
thirst
(thûrst)
- A sensation of dryness in the mouth and throat related to a need or desire to drink.
- The desire or need to drink.
- To feel a need to drink.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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