lust

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a strong sexual desire
  2. noun self-indulgent sexual desire (personified as one of the deadly sins)
  3. verb have a craving, appetite, or great desire for

Etymology

From Middle English lust, from Old English lust (“lust, pleasure, longing”), from Proto-West Germanic *lustu, from Proto-Germanic *lustuz. Akin to Old Saxon, Dutch lust, Old Frisian, Old High German, German Lust, Swedish lust, Danish lyst, Icelandic lyst, Old Norse losti, Gothic 𐌻𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌿𐍃 (lustus), and perhaps to Sanskrit लष् (laṣ), लषति (laṣati, “to desire”) and Albanian lushë (“bitch, savage dog, promiscuous woman”), or to English loose. Compare list (“to please”), listless.

In classic literature

Synonyms

lecherousness, lustfulness

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