Etymograph

English

wanting

Wanting comes from Middle English wantyng.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wantyng1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1712wanting1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English wanting
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1712, Joseph Addison, Cato: “Already Cæſar Has ravaged more than half the Globe,…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wantyngWiktionary, English wanting
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1712wantingWiktionary, English wanting. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1712, Joseph Addison, Cato: “Already Cæſar Has ravaged more than half the Globe,…”

Every English word from Middle English wantyng

Another origin of wanting

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wantyng
  2. Englishtodaywanting

Today it means

adj That wants or desires.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “wanting”. 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 / Middle English wantyng / wanting

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