Egernesse

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Archaic Middle English term for intense eagerness or keen longing to do something ; the sharpness or fierceness of a thing, such as a sour taste or a fierce temper
2. An old spelling denoting ardent enthusiasm or zeal for an aim ; a Middle English sense of acute sharpness, bitterness or fierceness in character or taste
3. Medieval English for a keen, passionate desire or readiness to act ; also the harshness, sourness or fierceness that characterized a person or thing

Etymology: Before "eager" meant wanting something badly, it meant sour. It comes from Old French "aigre", "sharp, sour", which descends from Latin "acer", "sharp". That root also gave English "acid" and "acrid", so the family is sharp-tasting from the start. The sense moved from taste to temper. A sharp taste became a sharp manner, and a sharp appetite became a keen one, so "eager" came to describe ardent desire. The noun "egernesse" is the Middle English form, made by adding the native suffix "-ness", which turns an adjective into a state or quality, to the adjective. Modern English later dropped the spelling "egernesse" for "eagerness".