eager

eager
eager (adj.) late 13c., "strenuous, ardent, fierce, angry," from O.Fr. aigre "sour, acid; harsh, bitter, rough; eager greedy; lively, active, forceful," from L. acrem (nom. acer) "keen, sharp, pointed, piercing; acute, ardent, zealous" (see ACRID (Cf. acrid)). Meaning "full of keen desire" (early 14c.) seems to be peculiar to English. The English word kept an alternative meaning of "pungent, sharp-edged" till 19c. (e.g. Shakespeare's "The bitter clamour of two eager tongues," in "Richard II"). Related: Eagerly; eagerness.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Eager — Ea ger, a. [OE. egre sharp, sour, eager, OF. agre, aigre, F. aigre, fr. L. acer sharp, sour, spirited, zealous; akin to Gr. ? highest, extreme, Skr. a?ra point; fr. a root signifying to be sharp. Cf. {Acrid}, {Edge}.] 1. Sharp; sour; acid. [Obs.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Eager — ist der Name folgender Personen: Allen Eager (1927–2003), US amerikanischer Jazzsaxophonist Ben Eager (* 1984), kanadischer Eishockeyspieler Vince Eager (* 1940), britischer Pop Musiker Diese Seite ist eine …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • eager — eager, avid, keen, anxious, agog, athirst mean actuated by a strong and urgent desire or interest. Eager implies ardor and, often, enthusiasm; it frequently also connotes impatience {it is not a life for fiery and dominant natures, eager to… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Eager — can mean *an enthusiasm to do something *Eager (band) *Eager (novel) …   Wikipedia

  • eager — eager1 [ē′gər] adj. [ME egre < OFr aigre < L acer, sharp, acute, ardent, eager: see ACID] 1. feeling or showing keen desire; impatient or anxious to do or get; ardent 2. Archaic sharp; keen eagerly adv. eagerness n. SYN. EAGER1 implies… …   English World dictionary

  • Eager — Ea ger, n. Same as {Eagre}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • eager — I adjective agressive, alacritous, ambitious, anxious, appetent, ardent, aspiring, assiduous, athirst, avid, avidus, bent upon, covetous, craving, desirous, diligent, disposed, earnest, enthusiastic, excited, fanatic, fanatical, fervent, fervidus …   Law dictionary

  • eager — [adj] anxious, enthusiastic acquisitive, agog, ambitious, antsy, appetent, ardent, athirst, avid, breathless, champing at the bit*, covetous, craving, desiring, desirous, dying to, earnest, fervent, fervid, greedy, gung ho*, hankering, heated,… …   New thesaurus

  • eager — ► ADJECTIVE 1) strongly wanting to do or have. 2) keenly expectant or interested. DERIVATIVES eagerly adverb eagerness noun. ORIGIN originally also in the sense «pungent, sour»: from Old French aigre keen , from Latin acer sharp, pungent …   English terms dictionary

  • eager — 01. I m quite [eager] to start my new job. 02. The kids [eagerly] packed their bags for their trip to Disneyland. 03. The children were really [eager] to see their grandmother after she came home from the hospital. 04. My teenage son s… …   Grammatical examples in English

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