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appetence

[ap-i-tuh ns]
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noun
  1. intense desire; strong natural craving; appetite.
  2. instinctive inclination or natural tendency.
  3. material or chemical attraction or affinity.
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Also appetency.

Origin of appetence

1600–10; appete (obsolete) to seek for, long for (< Latin appetere, equivalent to ap- ap-1 + petere to seek) + -ence; or < French appétence
Related formsap·pe·tent, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

impatient, avid, fierce, fervent, anxious, eager, ardent, intense, zealous, attentive, mindful, loving, keen, inclined, hungry, greedy, parched, restless, thirsty, ambitious

Examples from the Web for appetent

Historical Examples

  • The sentient spirit, that to which transmigratory conditions pertain, is also of two kinds, the appetent and non-appetent.

    The Sarva-Darsana-Samgraha

    Madhava Acharya

  • The appetent is the spirit associated with an organism and organs; the non-appetent is the spirit apart from organism and organs.

British Dictionary definitions for appetent

appetence

appetency

noun plural -tences or -tencies
  1. a natural craving or desire
  2. a natural or instinctive inclination
  3. an attraction or affinity
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Word Origin

C17: from Latin appetentia, from appetere to crave
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for appetent

appetence

n.

"strong desire," c.1600, from French appétence "desire," from Latin appetentia "longing after something," noun of state from appetentem (nominative appetens), present participle of appetere, from ad "to" (see ad-) + petere "to seek, request" (see petition (n.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper