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A vehement desire; esp. (Physiol.), the periodical sexual impulse of animals; heat; rut.

; as, an old man; an old age; an old horse; an old tree. Let not old age disgrace my high desire. Sir P. Sidney. The melancholy news that we grow old. Young.

To choose; to wish for; to desire. [Obs.] Cotgrave.

Expressing desire or wish. Fuller. Optative mood (Gram.), that mood or form of a verb, as in Greek, Sanskrit, etc., in which a wish or desire is expressed.

In an optative manner; with the expression of desire. [R.] God blesseth man imperatively, and man blesseth God optatively. Bp. Hall.

Of or pertaining to the desires; hence, impelling to gratification; appetitive.

Expressing impatience, anger, a desire to be rid of; -- with the force of command; go out; begone; away; off. Out, idle words, servants to shallow fools ! Shak. Out upon or on! equivalent to "shame upon!" "away with!" as, out upon you!

To extend beyond its due or desired length; as, a line, or advertisement, overruns.

the men were paddling for their lives. L'Estrange. While paddling ducks the standing lake desire. Gay.

A desire or plan for the union of all Mohammedan nations for the conquest of the world.

A scheme or desire to unite all the Slavic races into one confederacy.

Hence: To long eagerly; to desire earnestly. As the hart panteth after the water brooks. Ps. xlii. 1. Who pants for glory finds but short repose. Pope.

, love or anger) in a state of abnormal or controlling activity; an extreme or inordinate desire; also, the capacity or susceptibility of being so affected; as, to be in a passion; the passions of love, hate, jealously, wrath, ambition, avarice, fear, etc.; a passion for war, or for drink; an orator should have passion…

Characterized by passion; expressing passion; ardent in feeling or desire; vehement; warm; as, a passionate friendship. "The passionate Pilgrim." Shak.

liar or proper to private concerns; not public or general; as, personal comfort; personal desire. The words are conditional, -- If thou doest well, -- and so personal to Cain. Locke.

Love to mankind; benevolence toward the whole human family; universal good will; desire and readiness to do good to all men; -- opposed to misanthropy. Jer. Taylor.

To charm to love; to excite to love or sexual desire by a potion. Gov. of Tongue.

To languish with desire; to waste away with longing for something; -- usually followed by for. For whom, and not for Tybalt, Juliet pined. Shak.

Keenly felt desire; a longing. Though it have the pique, and long, 'Tis still for something in the wrong. Hudibras.

the rest give place." Shak. -- To have place, to have a station, room, or seat; as, such desires can have no place in a good heart. -- To take place. (a) To come to pass; to occur; as, the ceremony will not take place. (b) To take precedence or priority. Addison. (c) To take effect; to prevail. "If your doctrine take…