thirst

[thurst] /θɜrst/
noun
1.
a sensation of dryness in the mouth and throat caused by need of liquid.
2.
the physical condition resulting from this need, in any of various degrees:
They almost died of thirst.
3.
strong or eager desire; craving:
a thirst for knowledge.
verb (used without object)
4.
to feel thirst; be thirsty.
5.
to have a strong desire.
Origin
before 900; Middle English thirsten (v.), Old English thyrstan, derivative of thurst (noun); cognate with Dutch dorst, German Durst, Old Norse thorsti, Gothic thaurstei; noun has -i- from the v. or from thirsty; see toast1
Related forms
thirster, noun
unthirsting, adjective
Examples from the web for thirst
  • So she poured out the liquid music of her voice to quench the thirst of his spirit.
  • The work references the world's growing thirst for clean water in the face of shortages, drought and climatic shifts.
  • The work clearly references the world's growing thirst for clean water in the face of shortages, drought and climatic shifts.
  • The body regulates its water content mainly by balancing water intake through thirst with water loss through urine production.
  • It does seem that our sense of thirst is not a perfect guide to the optimal amount of water intake.
  • We humans are incredibly demanding because of our hunger and thirst-and the messy, odoriferous products of our satiety.
  • Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
  • Someday, it could quench the semiconductor industry's thirst for ever-shrinking components.
  • It's not a prize purse, or a thirst for macho glory.
  • If thirst mechanisms are normal and you drink enough fluids, there are no significant effects on body fluid or salt balance.
British Dictionary definitions for thirst

thirst

/θɜːst/
noun
1.
a craving to drink, accompanied by a feeling of dryness in the mouth and throat
2.
an eager longing, craving, or yearning: a thirst for knowledge
verb
3.
(intransitive) to feel a thirst: to thirst for a drink, to thirst after righteousness
Word Origin
Old English thyrstan, from thurst thirst; related to Old Norse thyrsta to thirst, Old High German dursten to thirst, Latin torrēre to parch
Word Origin and History for thirst
n.

Old English þurst, from West Germanic *thurstus (cf. Old Saxon thurst, Frisian torst, Dutch dorst, Old High German and German durst), from Proto-Germanic *thurs-, from PIE root *ters- "dry" (see terrain). Figurative sense of "vehement desire" is attested from c.1200.

v.

Old English þyrstan (see thirst (n.)); the figurative sense of the verb was present in Old English. Related: Thirsted; thirsting.

thirst in Medicine

thirst (thûrst)
n.

  1. A sensation of dryness in the mouth and throat related to a need or desire to drink.

  2. The desire or need to drink.

v. thirst·ed, thirst·ing, thirsts
To feel a need to drink.