Concupiscentia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A strong desire or craving for sensual pleasures or sexual appetites exists to deeply stir the human spirit
2. An intense longing or lust for physical gratification and carnal indulgence that may influence behavior
3. The passionate yearning for erotic experiences and desires that can evoke powerful emotional responses

Etymology: Medieval theologians used this Latin noun for something quite specific: the disordered appetite that, in their view, survived in human nature even after original sin, pulling people toward bodily pleasure against reason. The Latin is built from "concupiscere," "to desire eagerly," which combines "com-" (an intensifying prefix, here "very much") with "cupere," "to desire." The same "cupere" root sits behind "cupido," the god of desire, and "cupidity," so the English family of words is closely related. English took the word in the 1300s, when it appeared in religious writing, and the sense stayed tied to theology. Augustine had made the idea central to Christian moral thought, and later authors kept it as a term for the lingering inclination toward sin. Its neutral Latin meaning, simply "strong desire," was broader than the theological one, which is why the English word sounds more clinical or moralizing than its roots suggest.

Synonyms: lust, desire, passion, covetousness, craving

Antonyms: chastity, purity, self-control, abstinence, temperance