Hungers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An intense desire for food that often leads to feelings of emptiness or weakness
2. A strong craving for nourishment that may provoke irritability or fatigue
3. The physical sensation of needing sustenance, often accompanied by a yearning for specific types of food

Etymology: "Hungers" is simply the plural of "hunger," so the real story is the noun it comes from. Old English "hungor" meant not only the gnawing need for food but also desire in a broader sense, and it could also mean famine. That wider range of meaning survived from the earliest English record and sits behind the word's later sense of any strong longing. The root reaches further back than English. The Proto-Indo-European base "kenk-" meant "to burn, smart, desire, hunger, thirst," tying the feeling of hunger to a sensation of burning or ache. Its relatives are found across the Germanic languages, including Dutch "honger," German "Hunger," and Swedish "hunger." English also has a verb "hunger," which came from Old English "hyngran" and meant "to be hungry." Plural "hungers" usually points to repeated or varied cravings, as in the phrase's sense of strong appetites or longings.

Synonyms: appetites, cravings

Antonyms: satiation