eager

eager
\ \ [13] As its close etymological connection with vinegar and acid might suggest, the underlying sense of eager is ‘sharp’. It comes ultimately from the Indo-European base *ak- ‘sharp, pointed’, amongst whose other English descendants are acne, edge, and oxygen. It was the source of Latin ācerkeen, sharp’, which was used in relation both to sight, hearing, etc, and to temperamental qualities – hence ‘ardent, zealous’. The Latin adjective (from which English also gets acid and acrid) became *acrum in post-classical times, and from this came Old French aigre (source of the -egar of vinegar), which passed into English via Anglo- Norman egre. English retained the literal senses ‘pungent, sour’ and ‘sharp-edged’ until the early 19th century.
\ \ Cf.ACID, ACNE, ACRID, ACUTE, EDGE, OXYGEN

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Eager — Ea ger, a. [OE. egre sharp, sour, eager, OF. agre, aigre, F. aigre, fr. L. acer sharp, sour, spirited, zealous; akin to Gr. ? highest, extreme, Skr. a?ra point; fr. a root signifying to be sharp. Cf. {Acrid}, {Edge}.] 1. Sharp; sour; acid. [Obs.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Eager — ist der Name folgender Personen: Allen Eager (1927–2003), US amerikanischer Jazzsaxophonist Ben Eager (* 1984), kanadischer Eishockeyspieler Vince Eager (* 1940), britischer Pop Musiker Diese Seite ist eine …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • eager — eager, avid, keen, anxious, agog, athirst mean actuated by a strong and urgent desire or interest. Eager implies ardor and, often, enthusiasm; it frequently also connotes impatience {it is not a life for fiery and dominant natures, eager to… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Eager — can mean *an enthusiasm to do something *Eager (band) *Eager (novel) …   Wikipedia

  • eager — (adj.) late 13c., strenuous, ardent, fierce, angry, from O.Fr. aigre sour, acid; harsh, bitter, rough; eager greedy; lively, active, forceful, from L. acrem (nom. acer) keen, sharp, pointed, piercing; acute, ardent, zealous (see ACRID (Cf.… …   Etymology dictionary

  • eager — eager1 [ē′gər] adj. [ME egre < OFr aigre < L acer, sharp, acute, ardent, eager: see ACID] 1. feeling or showing keen desire; impatient or anxious to do or get; ardent 2. Archaic sharp; keen eagerly adv. eagerness n. SYN. EAGER1 implies… …   English World dictionary

  • Eager — Ea ger, n. Same as {Eagre}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • eager — I adjective agressive, alacritous, ambitious, anxious, appetent, ardent, aspiring, assiduous, athirst, avid, avidus, bent upon, covetous, craving, desirous, diligent, disposed, earnest, enthusiastic, excited, fanatic, fanatical, fervent, fervidus …   Law dictionary

  • eager — [adj] anxious, enthusiastic acquisitive, agog, ambitious, antsy, appetent, ardent, athirst, avid, breathless, champing at the bit*, covetous, craving, desiring, desirous, dying to, earnest, fervent, fervid, greedy, gung ho*, hankering, heated,… …   New thesaurus

  • eager — ► ADJECTIVE 1) strongly wanting to do or have. 2) keenly expectant or interested. DERIVATIVES eagerly adverb eagerness noun. ORIGIN originally also in the sense «pungent, sour»: from Old French aigre keen , from Latin acer sharp, pungent …   English terms dictionary

  • eager — 01. I m quite [eager] to start my new job. 02. The kids [eagerly] packed their bags for their trip to Disneyland. 03. The children were really [eager] to see their grandmother after she came home from the hospital. 04. My teenage son s… …   Grammatical examples in English

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