désirer (French)
Where does "désirer" come from?
The French verb 'désirer' was inherited from the Latin 'dēsīderāre,' which originally described the feeling of missing or longing for something absent. This Latin root likely combines the prefix 'de-' with 'sidus,' meaning star, possibly reflecting an ancient practice of waiting for or wishing upon the stars. Over time, the word evolved from the sense of searching the heavens for a sign into the general feeling of wanting or craving something today.
Full etymology tree
- désirer (French), 'to desire, want'
- inherited from dēsīderāre (Latin), 'inflection of dēsīderō:'
- compound of dē- (Latin), 'of; from'
- inherited from *dē (Proto-Italic)
- inherited from *déh₁ (Proto-Indo-European), 'toward'
- affix *de (Proto-Indo-European), 'to, towards'
- suffix *-h₁ (Proto-Indo-European), 'Adverbial suffix with instrumental meaning'
- inherited from *déh₁ (Proto-Indo-European), 'toward'
- inherited from *dē (Proto-Italic)
- compound of *sīder- (Latin)
- derived from sīdus (Latin), 'group of stars, constellation, asterism'
- inherited from *sīþos (Proto-Italic)
- derived from *sh₂ey- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to bind, fetter'
- derived from *sweyd- (Proto-Indo-European), 'sweat'
- derived from *seHdʰ- (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited from *sīþos (Proto-Italic)
- derived from sīdus (Latin), 'group of stars, constellation, asterism'
- compound of dē- (Latin), 'of; from'
- inherited from dēsīderāre (Latin), 'inflection of dēsīderō:'
Ancestors
- desidero (Latin)
Descendants and derived words
- laisser à désirer (French)
Updated April 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris