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Added 8 October 2026

lust

/ˈlʌst/ noun

In Latin: cupido Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about lust at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A feeling of strong desire, especially such a feeling driven by sexual arousal.
Seeing Leslie fills me with a passionate lust.
A general want or longing, not necessarily sexual.
The boarders hide their lust to go home.
A delightful cause of joy, pleasure.
An ideal son is his father's lasting lust.

verb

To look at or watch with a strong desire, especially of a sexual nature.
To desire.

Origin

From Middle English lust, from Old English lust (“lust, pleasure, longing”), from Proto-West Germanic *lustu, from Proto-Germanic *lustuz. Akin to Old Saxon, Dutch lust, Old Frisian, Old High German, German Lust, Swedish lust, Danish lyst, Icelandic lyst, Old Norse losti, Gothic 𐌻𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌿𐍃 (lustus), and perhaps to Sanskrit लष् (laṣ), लषति (laṣati, “to desire”) and Albanian lushë (“bitch, savage dog, promiscuous woman”), or to English loose. Compare list (“to please”), listless.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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