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Webster 1913 Edition

Thirst

Thirst

(thẽrst)
,
Noun.
[OE.
thirst
,
þurst
, AS.
þurst
,
þyrst
; akin to D.
dorst
, OS.
thurst
, G.
durst
, Icel.
þorsti
, Sw. & Dan.
törst
, Goth.
þaúrstei
thirst,
þaúrsus
dry, withered,
þaúrsieþ mik
I thirst, ga
þaírsan
to wither, L.
torrere
to parch, Gr.
τέρσεσθαι
to become dry,
τεσαίνειν
to dry up, Skr.
tṛsh
to thirst. √54. Cf.
Torrid
.]
1.
A sensation of dryness in the throat associated with a craving for liquids, produced by deprivation of drink, or by some other cause (as fear, excitement, etc.) which arrests the secretion of the pharyngeal mucous membrane; hence, the condition producing this sensation.
Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us, and our children . . . with
thirst
?
Ex. xvii. 3.
With
thirst
, with cold, with hunger so confounded.
Chaucer.
2.
Fig.: A want and eager desire after anything; a craving or longing; – usually with for, of, or after;
as, the
thirst
for gold
.
“Thirst of worldy good.”
Fairfax.
“The thirst I had of knowledge.”
Milton.

Thirst

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Thirsted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Thirsting
.]
[AS.
þyrstan
. See
Thirst
,
Noun.
]
1.
To feel thirst; to experience a painful or uneasy sensation of the throat or fauces, as for want of drink.
The people
thirsted
there for water.
Ex. xvii. 3.
2.
To have a vehement desire.
My soul
thirsteth
for . . . the living God.
Ps. xlii. 2.

Thirst

,
Verb.
T.
To have a thirst for.
[R.]
He seeks his keeper’s flesh, and
thirsts
his blood.
Prior.

Webster 1828 Edition

Thirst

THIRST

,
Noun.
thurst. [L. torreo.]
1.
A painful sensation of the throat or fauces, occasioned by the want of drink.
Wherefore is it that thou hast brought us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? Ex.17.
2.
A vehement desire of drink. Ps.104.
3.
A want and eager desire after any thing.
Thirst of worldly good.
Thirst of knowledge.
Thirst of praise.
Thirst after happiness.
But for is now more generally used after thirst; as a thirst for worldly honors; a thirst for praise.
4.
Dryness; drouth.
The rapid current, through veins
Of porous earth with kindly thirst updrawn,
Rose a fresh fountain--

THIRST

,
Verb.
I.
thurst.
1.
To experience a painful sensation of the throat or fauces for want of drink.
The people thirsted there for water. Ex.17.
2.
To have a vehement desire for any thing.
My soul thirsteth for the living God. Ps.42.

THIRST

,
Verb.
T.
To want to drink; as, to thirst blood. [Not English.]

Definition 2024

thirst

thirst

English

Noun

thirst ‎(plural thirsts)

  1. A sensation of dryness in the throat associated with a craving for liquids, produced by deprivation of drink, or by some other cause (as fear, excitement, etc.) which arrests the secretion of the pharyngeal mucous membrane; hence, the condition producing this sensation.
    • 1918, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Land That Time Forgot Chapter IV
      "We haven't one chance for life in a hundred thousand if we don't find food and water upon Caprona. This water coming out of the cliff is not salt; but neither is it fit to drink, though each of us has drunk. It is fair to assume that inland the river is fed by pure streams, that there are fruits and herbs and game. Shall we lie out here and die of thirst and starvation with a land of plenty possibly only a few hundred yards away? We have the means for navigating a subterranean river. Are we too cowardly to utilize this means?"
  2. (figuratively) A want and eager desire (for something); a craving or longing.
    a thirst for gold

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Verb

thirst ‎(third-person singular simple present thirsts, present participle thirsting, simple past and past participle thirsted)

  1. To be thirsty.
    • Bible, Exodus xvii. 3
      The people thirsted there for water.
  2. To desire.
    • Bible, Psalms xlii. 2
      My soul thirsteth for […] the living God.
    I thirst for knowledge and education will sate me.

Translations

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English thirst, thurst, from Old English þurst, form Western Proto-Germanic *þurstuz, from Proto-Indo-European *ters- ‎(“dry”). Cognates include Old High German thurst, Middle High German durst, German Durst, Old Saxon thurst, Old Dutch thursti, Middle Dutch dorst, dorste, Dutch dorst, Old Norse þorsti (Swedish törst, Icelandic þorsti, Danish tørst, Norwegian tørst), non-Germanic: Ancient Greek τέρσομαι ‎(térsomai), Albanian djersë ‎(“sweat”), Sanskrit तृष्यति ‎(tṛṣyati) and Latin terra.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: thûrst
  • (UK) IPA(key): /θɜːst/
  • (US) IPA(key): /θɝst/
  • Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)st

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