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Origin and history of wanting

wanting(adj.)

"that is absent or lacking," a 16c. formation replacing wantand (early 14c.), "deficient, lacking," present-participle adjective from want (v.). An earlier adjective was wantsum "in want" (late 12c., from the noun).

also from early 14c.

Entries linking to wanting

want(v.)

c. 1200, wanten, "be lacking, be deficient in something," from Old Norse vanta "to lack, want," earlier *wanaton, from Proto-Germanic *wanen, from PIE *weno-, suffixed form of root *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out." The meaning "desire, wish for, feel the need of" is recorded by 1706.

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    absent
    "not present, not in a certain place" (of persons), "non-existent" (of things), late 14c., from Old French absent, ausent "absent" and directly from Latin absentem (nominative absens), present participle of abesse "be away from, be absent," from assimilated form of ab "off, away
    missing
    "not present or found, absent," 1520s, present-participle adjective from miss (v.). Military sense of "not present after a battle but not known to have been killed or captured" is from 1845. As a noun by 1855. Missing link was used in various figurative senses before is attested
    lack
    "be wanting or deficient" (intransitive), late 12c., perhaps from Middle Dutch laken "to be wanting," from lak (n.)...
    defective
    [Century Dictionary] In grammar, "wanting some of the usual forms of declension or conjugation" (late 15c.)....Used in the sense of "mentally ill" from 1854 to c. 1935; as a noun, "person wanting in some physical or mental power," by...
    diffident
    mid-15c., "distrustful, wanting confidence in another's power," from Latin diffidentem (nominative diffidens), present participle...
    vehement
    The other theory is that it represents vehe- "lacking, wanting" + mens "mind." Related: Vehemently....
    disconsolate
    late 14c., "causing discomfort, dismal;" c. 1400, "unhappy, dejected, melancholy, wanting consolation or comfort," from Medieval...
    search
    c. 1300, serchen, "go through and examine carefully and in detail" (transitive), from Old French cerchier "to search" (12c., Modern French chercher), from Latin circare "go about, wander, traverse," in Late Latin "to wander hither and thither, go round, explore," from circus "cir
    chaser
    c. 1300, "horse trained for chasing," agent noun from chase (v.), probably in some cases from Old French chaceor "huntsman, hunter." The meaning "water or mild beverage taken after a strong drink" is by 1894, U.S. colloquial. French had chasse (from chasser "to chase") "a drink o
    hope
    Old English hopian "have the theological virtue of Hope; hope for (salvation, mercy), trust in (God's word)," also "to have trust, have confidence; assume confidently or trust" (that something is or will be so), a word of unknown origin. Not the usual Germanic term for this, but

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