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Added 9 October 2026

hanker

/ˈhæŋkə(ɹ)/ verb

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about hanker at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To crave, want or desire.
If you hanker for chocolate, you'll like this fudge recipe.

Origin

With a secondary frequentative suffix -er, ultimately pointing to Proto-Germanic *hankōną, an iterative to *hanhaną (“to hang”). Related to Dutch hunkeren (“to crave”), which continues the zero-grade iterative.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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