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Origin and history of eager

eager(adj.)

late 13c., "strenuous, ardent, fierce, angry," from Old French aigre "sour, acid; harsh, bitter, rough; eager greedy; lively, active, forceful," from Vulgar Latin *acrus (source also of Italian agro, Spanish agrio), from Latin acer "keen, sharp, pointed, piercing; acute, ardent, zealous" (from PIE root *ak- "be sharp, rise (out) to a point, pierce").

The meaning "full of keen desire" (early 14c.) seems peculiar to English. Into 19c. the word kept a secondary meaning of "pungent, sharp-edged" (as in Shakespeare's "The bitter clamour of two eager tongues," in "Richard II"). Related: Eagerly; eagerness. Eager beaver "glutton for work" [OED, 1989] is from 1943, U.S. armed forces slang.

also from late 13c.

Entries linking to eager

vinegar(n.)

diluted impure acetic acid, early 14c., vinegre, usually "wine vinegar," from Anglo-French vinegre, Old French vinaigre "vinegar," from vin "wine" (from Latin vinum; see wine (n.)) + aigre "sour" (see eager). In Latin, it was vinum acetum "wine turned sour," acetum for short (see acetic), also used figuratively for "wit, shrewdness;" and compare Greek oxos "wine vinegar," which is related to oxys "sharp" (from PIE root *ak- "be sharp, rise (out) to a point, pierce"). Related: Vinegary; vinegarish.

*ak-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "be sharp, rise (out) to a point, pierce."

It might form all or part of: acacia; acanthus; accipiter; acer; acerbic; acerbity; acervate; acervulus; acescent; acetic; acid; acicular; acme; acne; acrid; acridity; acrimony; acro-; acrobat; acromegaly; acronym; acrophobia; acropolis; acrostic; acrylic; acuity; aculeate; acumen; acupressure; acupuncture; acute; aglet; ague; Akron; anoxic; awn; coelacanth; dioxin; deoxy-; eager; ear (n.2) "grain part of corn;" edge (n.); egg (v.) "to goad on, incite;" eglantine; epoxy; ester; exacerbation; hammer; hypoxia; mediocre; oxalic; oxide; oxy-; oxygen; oxymoron; paragon; pyracanth; paroxysm; selvage; vinegar.

It might also be the source of: Greek akros "at the end, at the top, outermost; consummate, excellent," akis "sharp point," akē "point of an iron tool," akantha "thorn," akmē "summit, edge," oxys "sharp, bitter;" Sanskrit acri- "corner, edge," acani- "point of an arrow," asrih "edge;" Oscan akrid (ablative singular) "sharply;" Latin acer (fem. acris) "sharp to the senses, pungent, bitter, eager, fierce," acutus "sharp, pointed," acuere "to sharpen," acerbus "harsh, bitter," acere "be sharp, be bitter," acus "a needle, pin," ocris "jagged mountain;" Lithuanian ašmuo "sharpness," akstis "sharp stick;" Old Lithuanian aštras, Lithuanian aštrus "sharp;" Old Church Slavonic ostru, Russian óstryj "sharp;" Old Irish er "high;" Welsh ochr "edge, corner, border;" Old Norse eggja "goad;" Old English ecg "sword;" German Eck "corner."

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    "pierce or perforate with a rotatory cutting instrument, make a circular hole in by turning an auger, drill, etc.," Old English borian "to bore through, perforate," from bor "auger," from Proto-Germanic *buron (source also of Old Norse bora, Swedish borra, Old High German boron,
    yearn
    Old English giernan (West Saxon), geornan (Mercian), giorna (Northumbrian) "to strive, be eager, desire, seek for, beg, demand...gairnjan "to desire," German begehren "to desire;" Old High German gern, Old Norse gjarn "desirous," Old English georn "eager...
    lascivious
    This is from PIE *las-ko-, from the root *las- "to be eager, wanton, or unruly" (source also of Sanskrit -lasati "yearns,...desire, covet," Greek laste "harlot," Old Church Slavonic laska "flattery," Slovak laska "love," Russian lasyj "greedy, eager..., affectionate," Old Irish lainn "greedy, eager," Gothic lustus, Old English lust "lust")....
    ambitious
    late 14c., ambicious, "craving, yearning, overambitious," from Latin ambitiosus "eager for public office, eager to win favor...
    cupidity
    "eager desire to possess something," mid-15c., from Anglo-French cupidite and directly from Latin cupiditatem (nominative...cupiditas) "passionate desire, lust; ambition," from cupidus "eager, passionate," from cupere "to desire."...
    hasty
    .) + -y (2); replacing or nativizing earlier hastif (c. 1300) "eager, impetuous," from Old French hastif "speedy, rapid;...(this is the sense in hasty-pudding, 1590s, so called because it was made quickly); that of "eager, rash" is from early 15c...
    avarice
    Latin avaritia "greed, inordinate desire," from avarus "greedy, grasping," adjectival form of avere "crave, long for, be eager...," from Proto-Italic *awe- "to be eager," from PIE *heu-eh- "to enjoy, consume" (source also of Sanskrit avasa- "refreshment...
    Boer
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    robe
    "long, loose outer garment reaching almost to the floor, worn by men or women over other dress," late 13c., from Old French robe "long, loose outer garment" (12c.), from a Germanic source (compare Old High German rouba "vestments"), from West Germanic *raubo "booty" (cognate with
    acer
    maple tree genus name, from Latin acer, a word of uncertain origin, perhaps from PIE *ak- "be sharp" (see acro-) and so called for its pointed leaves. There seem to have been two roots for "maple" in Indo-European; cognates of this one are said to include Old High German ahorn "m

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