noun · verb · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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General-American:/ˈjɝnɪŋ/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈjɜːnɪŋ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)nɪŋ
CMU ARPABET:Y ER1 N IH0 NG
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A wistful or melancholy longing.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
She had a yearning to see her long-lost sister again.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Rennet (an enzyme to curdle milk in order to make cheese).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Scotland, archaic, countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
verb
Meaning 3
present participle and gerund of yearn
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: form-of, gerund, participle, present
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
prolonged unfulfilled desire or need
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
From Middle English yerning, from Old English ġierning, ġierninge. Equivalent to the gerund (yearn + -ing). yearn comes from Proto-West Germanic *girnijan, from Proto-Germanic *girnijaną, from *gernaz (“eager, willing”) + *-janą, from Proto-Indo-European *gher- (“to yearn for”). By surface analysis, yearn + -ing.
PIE word *ḱóm From earlier yerning, from Middle English yernyng, erning, renning. From Old English rynning and gerunnen, geurnen (“run together, coagulated, curdled”), past participles of gerinnan, geirnan, respectively. Influenced by Middle English yern (“to (cause to) coagulate or curdle”), Old English iernan (“to run, flow”), metathesized forms derived from the same origin. From verbal prefix ge- + rinnan (“to run”). First element is from Proto-West Germanic *ga-, from Proto-Germanic *ga-, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“with, by”); second element is from Proto-Germanic *rinnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h3r̥-néw-ti, from *h3er- (“to move”). Doublet of rennet, run.
Across languages
Translations
58 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
gullmi
— wistful or melancholy longing
Arabic:
شَوْق
(šawq)
— wistful or melancholy longing
Armenian:
կարոտ
(karot)
— wistful or melancholy longing
Bulgarian:
копнеж
(kopnež)
— wistful or melancholy longing
Bulgarian:
жадуване
(žaduvane)
— wistful or melancholy longing
Catalan:
anhel
— wistful or melancholy longing
Chinese Mandarin:
憧憬
(chōngjǐng)
— wistful or melancholy longing
Czech:
stesk
— wistful or melancholy longing
Czech:
tesknění
— wistful or melancholy longing
Czech:
stýskání
— wistful or melancholy longing
Danish:
længsel
— wistful or melancholy longing
Esperanto:
dezirego
— wistful or melancholy longing
Esperanto:
sopiro
— wistful or melancholy longing
Finnish:
kaipuu
— wistful or melancholy longing
Finnish:
kaipaus
— wistful or melancholy longing
Finnish:
ikävä
— wistful or melancholy longing
French:
aspiration
— wistful or melancholy longing
French:
envie
— wistful or melancholy longing
Georgian:
წყურვილი
(c̣q̇urvili)
— wistful or melancholy longing
German:
Sehnsucht
— wistful or melancholy longing
German:
großes Verlangen
— wistful or melancholy longing
Ancient Greek:
πόθος
(póthos)
— wistful or melancholy longing
Ancient Greek:
ὄρεξις
(órexis)
— wistful or melancholy longing
Ancient Greek:
ἐπιθυμία
(epithumía)
— wistful or melancholy longing
Hebrew:
כִּיסּוּפִים
(kisufim)
— wistful or melancholy longing
Ingrian:
kaiho
— wistful or melancholy longing
Ingrian:
ikävä
— wistful or melancholy longing
Italian:
brama
— wistful or melancholy longing
Italian:
nostalgia
— wistful or melancholy longing
Italian:
anelito
— wistful or melancholy longing
Italian:
voglia
— wistful or melancholy longing
Italian:
desiderio
— wistful or melancholy longing
Italian:
bramosia
— wistful or melancholy longing
Italian:
struggimento
— wistful or melancholy longing
Japanese:
憧れ
(akogare)
— wistful or melancholy longing
Kapampangan:
dulap
— wistful or melancholy longing
Korean:
동경
(donggyeong)
— wistful or melancholy longing
Latin:
dēsīderium
— wistful or melancholy longing
Māori:
poreirewa
— wistful or melancholy longing
Polish:
tęsknota
— wistful or melancholy longing
Portuguese:
saudade
— wistful or melancholy longing
Romanian:
dor
— wistful or melancholy longing
Romanian:
dorință arzătoare
— wistful or melancholy longing
Romanian:
năzuință
— wistful or melancholy longing
Russian:
тя́га
(tjága)
— wistful or melancholy longing
Russian:
скло́нность
(sklónnostʹ)
— wistful or melancholy longing
Russian:
стремле́ние
(stremlénije)
— wistful or melancholy longing
Russian:
тоска́
(toská)
— wistful or melancholy longing
Sanskrit:
छन्दस्
(chandas)
— wistful or melancholy longing
Serbo-Croatian:
čežnja
— wistful or melancholy longing