crave

English

Etymology

From Middle English craven, from Old English crafian (“to crave, ask, implore, demand, summon”), from Proto-Germanic *krabōną (“to shrink, contract, be stiff, be firm”), from Proto-Indo-European *grep- (“hook, strength, force”). Cognate with Danish kræve (“to crave, ask, demand, require”), Norwegian kreve (“to demand”), Swedish kräva (“to demand, require”), Icelandic krefja (“to demand”), Icelandic krafa (“a demand, requirement”). Related to craft, grape.

Guus Kroonen in his Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic gives *krabēn- (“to urge, demand”) as the origin of the verb, which he tentatively connects to Elfdalian [Term?] kravel (“trouble, hassle, seediness, morbidity”) from a Proto-Germanic *krab(a)la-, pointing to a possible original meaning “to be in need”'. He further suggests a connection to Proto-Germanic *krēbi- (“to be claimed”), a gerundive of Old Norse krefja (“to claim”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: krāv, IPA^(key): /kɹeɪv/
• Rhymes: -eɪv

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Verb

1. (transitive, intransitive) To desire strongly, so as to satisfy an appetite; to long or yearn for.

   to crave for peace

   to crave after wealth

   to crave drugs

   • (Can we date this quote by Edmund Gurney and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     His path is one that eminently craves weary walking.

2. (transitive) To ask for earnestly; to beg; to claim.

   I humbly crave your indulgence to read this letter until the end.

   • c. 1596-97 William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act IV scene i^[1]:

     My deeds upon my head! I crave the law,

     The penalty and forfeit of my bond.

   • c. 1603-04 William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, Act II scene ii^[2]:

     I crave your honour's pardon.

   • Bible, Mark xv. 43:

     Joseph […] went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.

Derived terms

• craving
• cravingly
• cravingness

Noun

crave (plural craves)

1. (law, Scotland) A formal application to a court to make a particular order.

Translations

to want strongly

• Bulgarian: жадувам (bg) (žaduvam), копнея (bg) (kopneja)
• Burmese: မက် (my) (mak)
• Catalan: ansiar
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 渴望 (zh) (kěwàng), 熱望／热望 (zh) (rèwàng), 热望 (zh) (rèwàng)

• Crimean Tatar: tamşanmaq
• Dutch: verlangen (nl)
• Esperanto: deziregi
• Finnish: haluta kovasti, himoita (fi)
• French: souhaiter (fr), désirer (fr)
• Galician: arelar (gl), degorar (gl), devecer (gl)
• German: sich sehnen (de)
• Hungarian: vágyik (hu), vágyódik (hu), sóvárog (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: desiderare (it)
• Japanese: 切望する (ja) (setsubō suru)
• Latin: dēsīderō, avēo
• Latvian: alkt, kārot
• Lithuanian: geisti (lt), trokšti
• Maori: warawara, kaimomotu, kumama (referring to food especially by pregnant women), kohekohe (for food), matainaina, matainaina
• Portuguese: ansiar (pt)
• Romanian: dori (ro), jindui (ro)
• Russian: жажда́ть (ru) (žaždátʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: žudjeti (sh)
• Spanish: anhelar (es), ansiar (es)
• Swedish: sukta efter
• Turkish: can atmak (tr), çok istemek

to ask earnestly

• French: implorer (fr)
• Galician: pianchar, croiñar, deprecar, pedichar
• Japanese: 懇願する (ja) (kongan suru)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Romanian: implora (ro)
• Spanish: implorar (es)

References

• Kroonen, Guus (2013) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, s. v. “*krabēn-” and “*krēbi-”.

Anagrams

• Caver, carve, caver, varec

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Portuguese

Verb

crave