Wordwyrt

appetite

/ˈæpəˌtaɪt/A-puh-tyt
/ˈæpəˌtaɪt/A-puh-tyt

Meaningto attack

Common meaning: desire for food or another thing

‘to, towards’ + ‘to aim at, seek’ → appetite

Journey through time

  • ap — Latin ad- “to, towards” (path traced)
  • petite — Latin petō, petīvī, petītum “to aim at, seek” (path traced)

Parts join in Latin as appetere.

  1. Latinad- + petere‘to, towards + to aim at, seek’source
  2. Latinappetere‘to attack’source
  3. Latinappetitus‘an appetite’source
  4. Englishmeaning shiftsto attack → desire for food or another thingappetite‘desire for food or another thing’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin appetere, which Skeat (Concise Dictionary, 1911) analyses as ad- ‘to, towards’ + petere ‘to aim at, seek’.

Roots

Related words

impetusperpetualrecompete

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