Yeaning

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. An intense longing or desire for something deeply felt
2. A deep emotional yearning that often implies a sense of loss or nostalgia
3. A profound and persistent craving that can affect one's mood and thoughts

Etymology: "Yeaning" is easily confused with "yearning," but the two words are unrelated. "Yeaning" belongs to farming vocabulary: a ewe that is yeaning is giving birth to lambs. The verb "yean" comes from Old English "ēanian," meaning to bring forth young, usually lambs, and an Old English adjective, "ġeēan," carried the same sense. The root goes back to a very old word for "lamb," reconstructed for Proto-Indo-European, which also gave Latin "agnus" and Ancient Greek "amnós." "Yearning," by contrast, comes from Old English "giernan," "to desire," and has no connection to sheep.

Synonyms: longing, yearning, desiring, craving, wanting

Antonyms: indifference, disinterest, aversion