lust

See also: Lust and lušť

English

Etymology

From Middle English lust, from Old English lust (“lust, pleasure, longing”), from Proto-Germanic *lustuz. Akin to Old Saxon, Dutch lust, Old Frisian, Old High German, German Lust, Swedish lust, Danish lyst, Icelandic lyst, Old Norse losti, Gothic 𐌻𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌿𐍃 (lustus), and perhaps to Sanskrit लष् (laṣ), लषति (laṣati, “to desire”) and Albanian lushë (“bitch, savage dog, promiscuous woman”), or to English loose. Confer list (“to please”), listless.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lʌst/
• Rhymes: -ʌst

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Noun

lust (countable and uncountable, plural lusts)

1. A feeling of strong desire, especially such a feeling driven by sexual arousal.

   Seeing Leslie fills me with a passionate lust.

2. (archaic) A general want or longing, not necessarily sexual.

   The boarders hide their lust to go home.

   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Qveene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for VVilliam Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938, book V, canto VI, stanza 21:

     For little lust had she to talk of ought.

   • 1608, Joseph Hall, “Epistle I. To S^r. Robert Darcy. The Estate of a True, but Weake Christian.”, in Epistles […], volume I, London: […] H[umphrey] L[ownes] for Samuel Macham & E[leazar] Edgar […], OCLC 55184576, 2nd decade, page 108:

     [T]he vvorld thruſts it ſelfe betvvixt me and heauen; and, by his darke and indigeſted parts, eclipſeth that light vvhich ſhined to my ſoule. Novv, a ſenſeleſſe dulneſſe ouer-takes mee, and beſots mee; my luſt to deuotion is little, my ioy none at all: Gods face is hid, and I am troubled.

3. (archaic) A delightful cause of joy, pleasure.

   An ideal son is his father's lasting lust.

   • c. 1521, John Skelton, “Speke Parott”:

     Pompe, pryde, honour, ryches & worldly luſt
     Parrot ſayth playnly, ſhall tourne all to duſt

4. (obsolete) virility; vigour; active power
   • 1631, Francis [Bacon], “(please specify |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] VVilliam Rawley; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], OCLC 1044372886:

     Trees will grow greater, and bear better fruit, if you put salt, or lees of wine, or blood, to the root: the cause may be the increasing the lust or spirit of the root.

Synonyms

• (strong desire): See also Thesaurus:craving or Thesaurus:lust
• (general want or longing): See also Thesaurus:desire
• (delightful cause of joy): See also Thesaurus:pleasure
• (active power): lustihood, potency, vigour, virility

Derived terms

• bloodlust
• lustful
• lustihood
• lustily
• lustiness
• lustless
• lust murder
• lustsome
• lusty
• unlust

 

Related terms

• wanderlust

Translations

strong desire, especially of a sexual nature

• Aghwan: 𐕎𐔼𐔵 (niz)
• Albanian: epsh (sq) m
• Arabic: شَهْوَة‎ f (šahwa)
• Assamese: কাম (kam)
• Azerbaijani: şəhvət
• Belarusian: юр (be) m (jur), пажа́днасць f (pažádnascʹ), по́хаць f (póxacʹ)
• Bengali: কাম (bn) (kam)
• Bulgarian: по́хот (bg) f (póhot)
• Burmese: ရာဂ (my) (raga.), ရမ္မက် (my) (rammak), ကာမ (my) (kama.), တဏှာ (my) (ta.hna)
• Catalan: luxúria (ca) f
• Cebuano: uwag, kauwag
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 情慾 (zh), 情欲 (zh) (qíngyù), 肉慾 (zh), 肉欲 (zh) (ròuyù), 色慾 (zh), 色欲 (zh) (sèyù), 淫慾 (zh), 淫欲 (zh) (yínyù), 性慾 (zh), 性欲 (zh) (xìngyù)

• Czech: chtíč (cs) m
• Danish: begær n, lyst (da) c, liderlighed c
• Dutch: (zinnelijke) begeerte, lust (nl), wellust (nl)
• Esperanto: volupto
• Estonian: iha, himu
• Finnish: himo (fi)
• French: luxure (fr) f, concupiscence (fr) f
• Galician: luxuria f
• German: Wollust (de) f, Lust (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌻𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌿𐍃 m (lustus)
• Greek: λαγνεία (el) f (lagneía)
• Hebrew: תְּשׁוּקָה‎ (he) f (t'shuká)
• Hindi: वासना (hi) f (vāsnā), राग (hi) m (rāg), काम (hi) m (kām)
• Hungarian: vágy (hu), testi/nemi/érzéki vágy
• Indonesian: syahwat (id), nafsu (id)
• Irish: collaíocht f, ainmhian f, anmhacnas m
• Italian: libido (it), libidine (it), lussuria (it) f
• Japanese: 色欲 (ja) (しきよく, shikiyoku), 淫欲 (ja) (いんよく, in'yoku), 情欲 (ja) (じょうよく, jōyoku), 好色 (ja) (こうしょく, kōshoku)
• Kazakh: құймырлық (quimyrlyq)
• Khmer: រាគ (km) (riək), កាម (km) (kaam)
• Korean: 성욕 (seong'yok), 음욕 (ko) (eumyok), 정욕 (jeong'yok)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: şehwet (ku)

• Lao: ກາມາຍົນ (kā mā nyon), ກາມ (kām), ຕັນຫາ (tan hā)

• Latin: cupido (la) f
• Latvian: iekāre f
• Macedonian: похота f (pohota)
• Maltese: zina f
• Maori: pohane, mate kanehe
• Mongolian: тачаал (mn) (tachaal), шунал (mn) (shunal)
• Nepali: काम (ne) (kām)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: lyst (no) m or f, kjødslyst m or f (old-fashioned), begjær (no) n

• Occitan: luxúria f
• Old Prussian: pakwaitīsnā
• Pali: rāga m, kāma m
• Pashto: شهوت‎ (ps) m (šahwát)
• Persian: شهوت‎ (fa) (šahvat)
• Polish: pożądanie (pl) n, żądza (pl) f, chuć (pl) f (literally)
• Portuguese: luxúria (pt) f
• Romanian: luxură (ro) f, desfrânare (ro) f, concupiscență (ro) f
• Russian: по́хоть (ru) f (póxotʹ), похотли́вость (ru) f (poxotlívostʹ), вожделе́ние (ru) n (voždelénije), жела́ние (ru) n (želánije), страсть (ru) f (strastʹ), сладостра́стие (ru) n (sladostrástije)
• Sanskrit: राग (sa) m (rāga), काम (sa) m (kā́ma), रिरंसा (sa) f (riráṃsā)
• Scottish Gaelic: miann m or f, ana-miann m or f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: по̏хота f, по̏жуда f

  Roman: pȍhota (sh) f, pȍžuda (sh) f

• Slovak: chtíč m
• Slovene: strast (sl) f, pohota f
• Spanish: lujuria (es)
• Swahili: shahawa
• Swedish: begär (sv) n, lust (sv) c, åtrå (sv) c
• Tagalog: kalibugan
• Tajik: шаҳват (šahvat)
• Thai: ราคะ (th) (raa-ká), กาม (th) (gaam), ตัณหา (th) (dtan-hǎa)
• Turkish: tutku (tr), ihtiras (tr), arzu (tr), şehvet (tr)
• Ukrainian: по́хіть f (póxitʹ), пожа́дливість f (požádlyvistʹ), хти́вість f (xtývistʹ)
• Urdu: شہوت‎ f (śahvat)
• Uyghur: شەھۋەت‎ (shehwet)
• Uzbek: shahvat (uz)
• Vietnamese: ham muốn (vi), tham muốn
• Volapük: rüt
• Welsh: gwŷn m

general want or longing

• Arabic: شَهْوَة‎ f (šahwa)
• Belarusian: пра́га f (práha)
• Catalan: luxúria (ca) f
• Dutch: begeerte (nl), lust (nl), verlangen (nl) n
• Estonian: iha, himu
• Finnish: ikävöinti (fi), ikävä (fi)
• French: convoitise (fr) f
• German: Lust (de) f, Begehren (de) n, Verlangen (de) n
• Greek: επιθυμία (el) f (epithymía)
• Hungarian: vágy (hu), sóvárgás (hu)

• Italian: lussuria (it) f
• Maori: pohane
• Polish: pragnienie (pl) n
• Portuguese: vontade (pt) f
• Russian: жела́ние (ru) n (želánije), хоте́ние (ru) n (xoténije)
• Slovene: sla f
• Spanish: deseo (es) m, ganas (es) f pl, lujuria (es) f

delightful cause of joy, pleasure

• Catalan: luxúria (ca) f
• Dutch: plezier (nl), lust (nl)
• Estonian: lõbu
• Finnish: ilo (fi)
• German: Freude (de) f
• Italian: lussuria (it) f

• Macedonian: страст f (strast)
• Polish: rozkosz (pl) f, pasja (pl) f
• Russian: страсть (ru) f (strastʹ), па́ссия (ru) f (pássija)
• Spanish: alegría (es) f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Latin: ^{(please verify)} luxuria f
• Old English: ^{(please verify)} gál n, ^{(please verify)} gálscipe m
• Scottish Gaelic: ^{(please verify)} drùis f, ^{(please verify)} feòlmhorachd f, ^{(please verify)} baois f, ^{(please verify)} baoiseachd f

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} lujuria (es) f
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} lust (sv)

Verb

lust (third-person singular simple present lusts, present participle lusting, simple past and past participle lusted)

1. (intransitive, usually in the phrase "lust after") To look at or watch with a strong desire, especially of a sexual nature.

   He was lusting after the woman in the tight leather miniskirt.

Translations

strongly desire

• Danish: tørste efter (da)
• Dutch: begeren (nl), lusten (nl), smachten (nl)
• Finnish: himoita (fi)
• French: joie (fr), désirer (fr)
• German: begehren (de), verlangen (de), sehnen (de)
• Gothic: 𐌻𐌿𐍃𐍄𐍉𐌽 (lustōn)
• Greek: ποθώ (el) (pothó)

• Hebrew: חמד‎ (he) m (Chamad), התאוה‎ (he) m (Hit'avah), השתוקק‎ m (Hishtoqeq)
• Hungarian: vágyik (hu), kíván (hu), sóvárog (hu)
• Maori: mate kanehe, tāminamina, tāmina
• Sanskrit: गृध्यति (sa) (gṛdhyati)

crave sexual contact

• Danish: føle begær
• Dutch: begeren (nl), lusten (nl), smachten (nl)
• Finnish: himoita (fi)
• French: désirer (fr)

• German: begehren (de), verlangen (de)
• Hungarian: testi vágyat érez … iránt
• Maori: pohane

Anagrams

• LUTs, UTSL, slut, ults

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lʏst/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: lust
• Rhymes: -ʏst

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch lust, from Old Dutch *lust, from Proto-Germanic *lustuz.

Noun

lust m (plural lusten, diminutive lustje n)

1. lust, desire (especially sexual, but also more generally)
2. object of desire
3. pleasure, joy

   Het was een lust om naar hem te kijken en te luisteren.

   It was a pleasure watching and listening to him.

4. (usually in the plural) benefit, advantage
5. a taste for, strong tendency to

Derived terms

• bloedlust
• eetlust
• lusteloos
• lusthof
• lustig
• lustobject
• lustmoord
• lustoord
• lustprieel
• lusttuin
• moordlust
• roemlust
• strijdlust
• wellust

Descendants

• Negerhollands: lyst

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

lust

1. first-, second- and third-person singular present indicative of lusten
2. imperative of lusten

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Estonian

Etymology

From Middle Low German lust. Cognate to German Lust and Finnish lusti

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlusʲt/

Noun

lust (genitive lusti, partitive lusti)

1. pleasure, fun, joy, lust (non-sexual)

   Nad teevad seda niisama lusti pärast.

   They're doing it just for fun.

Declension

Declension of lust (type riik)

	singular	plural
nominative	lust	lustid
genitive	lusti	lustide
partitive	lusti	luste / lustisid
illative	lusti / lustisse	lustidesse / lustesse
inessive	lustis	lustides / lustes
elative	lustist	lustidest / lustest
allative	lustile	lustidele / lustele
adessive	lustil	lustidel / lustel
ablative	lustilt	lustidelt / lustelt
translative	lustiks	lustideks / lusteks
terminative	lustini	lustideni
essive	lustina	lustidena
abessive	lustita	lustideta
comitative	lustiga	lustidega

Descendants

• → Ingrian: lusti (“beautiful, funny”)

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Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch *lust, from Proto-Germanic *lustuz.

Noun

lust m or f

1. enjoyment, pleasure
2. lust, desire
3. hunger, desire to eat

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

• onlust

Descendants

• Dutch: lust

Further reading

• “lust”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “lust (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I

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Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *lustuz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lust/

Noun

lust m

1. desire, pleasure, appetite, lust

   Him wæs metes micel lust ― he had a craving for food. (Ælfric's Homilies)

Declension

Declension of lust (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	lust	lustas
accusative	lust	lustas
genitive	lustes	lusta
dative	luste	lustum

Descendants

• Middle English: lust
  • English: lust

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Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse losti (late Old Norse lyst), from Middle Low German lust lüst, lyst, from Old Saxon lust, from Proto-Germanic *lustuz.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

lust c

1. (uncountable) lust (a mood of desire), joy, a keen interest

   jag har ingen lust att läsa idag

   I don't feel like reading today

2. a desire (for something specific)

Declension

Declension of lust
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	lust	lusten	lustar	lustarna
Genitive	lusts	lustens	lustars	lustarnas

Related terms

• förlusta
• förlustelse
• läslust
• lusta
• lustgas
• lusthus
• lustig
• lustjakt
• lustresa
• lustspel
• lysten
• lystnad
• söklust

Further reading

• lust in Svensk ordbok.

Anagrams

• luts, slut

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West Frisian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

lust c (plural lusten)

1. desire, appetite
2. lust, sexual desire

Derived terms

• ytlust

Further reading

• “lust”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011