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Added 9 October 2026

yearn

/jɜːn/ verb

In Latin: dēsīderō Wiktionary

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

To have a strong desire for something or to do something; to long for or to do something.
All I yearn for is a simple life.
To long for something in the past with melancholy or nostalgia.
Of music, words, etc.: to express strong desire or longing.

noun

A strong desire or longing; a yearning, a yen.

verb

Of milk: to curdle, especially in the cheesemaking process.
Of milk: to curdle, especially in the cheesemaking process.
Of cheese: to be made from curdled milk.

Origin

The verb is derived from Middle English yernen, yern (“to express or feel desire; to desire, long or wish for; to lust after; to ask or demand for”) [and other forms], from Old English ġeornan (“to desire, yearn; to beg”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *girnijan (“to be eager for, desire”), from Proto-Germanic *girnijaną (“to desire, want”), from *gernaz (“eager, willing”) (from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to yearn for”)) + *-janą (suffix forming factitive verbs from adjectives). The noun is derived from the verb.

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

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