yearn

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• Received-Pronunciation: /jɜːn/
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• General-American: yûrn
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• General-American: /jɝn/
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• General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• homophone: yern
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• rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)n
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• CMU ARPABET: Y ER1 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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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.

Probably either: * a variant of earn (“to curdle, as milk”) (though this word is attested later), from Middle English erne, ernen (“to coagulate, congeal”) (chiefly South Midlands) [and other forms], a metathetic variant of rennen (“to run; to coagulate, congeal”), from Old English rinnan (“to run”) (with the variants iernan, irnan) and Old Norse rinna (“to move quickly, run; of liquid: to flow, run; to melt”), both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h3er- (“to move, stir; to rise, spring”); or * a back-formation from yearning (“(Scotland, archaic) rennet; calf (or other animal’s) stomach used to make rennet”).

101 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Arabic: تَاقَ (tāqa) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Arabic: اِشْتَاقَ (ištāqa) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Belarusian: нудзі́цца (nudzícca) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Belarusian: сумава́ць (sumavácʹ) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Belarusian: тужы́ць (tužýcʹ) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Bulgarian: копне́я (kopnéja) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Catalan: anhelar — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Catalan: ansiejar — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Cebuano: hidlaw — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Chinese Mandarin: 想念 (xiǎngniàn) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Chinese Mandarin: 思念 (sīniàn) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Chinese Mandarin: 盼念 (pànniàn) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Chinese Mandarin: 向往 (xiàngwǎng) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Czech: toužit — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Czech: prahnout — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Czech: bažit — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Danish: længte til — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Danish: længte efter — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Dutch: smachten — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Dutch: zuchten — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Dutch: verlangen (naar) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Esperanto: sopiri — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Finnish: kaivata — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Finnish: haikailla — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• French: languir — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Galician: devecer — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Galician: degorar — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Galician: halar — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Galician: arelar — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Galician: eslumecer — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Galician: aguciar — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Georgian: ლტოლვა (lṭolva) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Georgian: სწრაფვა (sc̣rapva) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Georgian: მისწრაფება (misc̣rapeba) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• German: sich sehnen — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• German: verlangen — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• German: vermissen — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Greek: επιθυμώ (epithymó) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Greek: λαχταρώ (lachtaró) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Ancient Greek: ὁμείρομαι (homeíromai) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Ancient Greek: ποθέω (pothéō) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Hebrew: השתוקק (hishtokék) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Hebrew: כמה (kamáh) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Hungarian: sóvárog — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Hungarian: vágyódik — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Italian: bramare — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Japanese: 憧れる (akogareru) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Japanese: 恋い慕う (koishitau) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Japanese: 切望する (setsubō suru) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Korean: 동경하다 (donggyeonghada) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Korean: 그리워하다 (geuriwohada) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Latin: dēsīderō — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Māori: kohekohe — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Occitan: cobejar — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Occitan: desirar — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Portuguese: ansiar — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Romanian: dori — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Romanian: jindui — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Romanian: tânji — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Russian: скуча́ть (skučátʹ) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Russian: тоскова́ть (toskovátʹ) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Russian: жа́ждать (žáždatʹ) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Russian: стреми́ться (stremítʹsja) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Russian: тужи́ть (tužítʹ) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Serbo-Croatian: че̏знути — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Serbo-Croatian: жу́дјети — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Serbo-Croatian: жу́дети — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Serbo-Croatian: čȅznuti — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Serbo-Croatian: žúdjeti — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Serbo-Croatian: žúdeti — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Spanish: anhelar — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Spanish: ansiar — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Spanish: añorar — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Spanish: desperecerse — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Spanish: acezar — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Swedish: längta till — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Swedish: längta tillbaka till — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Swedish: längta efter — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Turkish: özlemek — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Turkish: hislenmek — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Ukrainian: тужи́ти (tužýty) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Ukrainian: скуча́ти (skučáty) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Ukrainian: нудьгува́ти (nudʹhuváty) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Ukrainian: нуди́тися (nudýtysja) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Welsh: dyheu — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Yiddish: בענקען (benken) — to have a strong desire for something or to do something
• Armenian: կարոտել (karotel) — to long for something in the past with melancholy or nostalgia
• Bulgarian: тъгувам (tǎguvam) — to long for something in the past with melancholy or nostalgia
• Cebuano: hidlaw — to long for something in the past with melancholy or nostalgia
• Dutch: terugverlangen (naar) — to long for something in the past with melancholy or nostalgia
• Esperanto: sopiri — to long for something in the past with melancholy or nostalgia
• Finnish: kaivata — to long for something in the past with melancholy or nostalgia
• French: regretter — to long for something in the past with melancholy or nostalgia
• Georgian: ნაღვლობა (naɣvloba) — to long for something in the past with melancholy or nostalgia
• Georgian: დარდი (dardi) — to long for something in the past with melancholy or nostalgia
• Ancient Greek: ποθέω (pothéō) — to long for something in the past with melancholy or nostalgia
• Occitan: se laguiar — to long for something in the past with melancholy or nostalgia
• Occitan: se lanhar — to long for something in the past with melancholy or nostalgia
• Bulgarian: жадувам (žaduvam) — to have a strong desire for (something)
• Bulgarian: съсирвам се (sǎsirvam se) — of milk: to curdle, especially in the cheesemaking process
• Bulgarian: съсирвам (sǎsirvam) — to curdle (milk), especially in the cheesemaking process