Etymograph

English

desirous

Desirous comes from Old French desirrer ‘to desire’, and goes back to Latin *sīder-.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*sīder-1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsīderō2‘to long for, desire, feel the want of, miss, regret’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400desirrer3‘to desire’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400desirrous3
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1925desirous3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin desidero
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French desirrer
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English desirous
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1925, July 14: “His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*sīder-Wiktionary, Latin desideroreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsīderōWiktionary, Old French desirrer‘to long for, desire, feel the want of, miss, regret’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400desirrerWiktionary, English desirous‘to desire’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400desirrousWiktionary, English desirous
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1925desirousWiktionary, English desirous. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1925, July 14: “His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of…”

Every English word from Latin *sīder-

Today it means

adj Feeling desire; eagerly wishing; eager to obtain.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “desirous”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin desidero, Old French desirrer. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin *sīder- / desirous

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