hanker

English

Etymology

With a secondary frequentative suffix -er, ultimately pointing to Proto-Germanic *hankōną, an iterative to *hanhaną (“to hang”). Related to Dutch hunkeren (“to crave”), which continues the zero-grade iterative.

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -æŋkə(r)

Verb

hanker (third-person singular simple present hankers, present participle hankering, simple past and past participle hankered)

  1. To crave, want or desire.
    If you hanker for chocolate, you'll like this fudge recipe.
    • 2012, The Economist, 13 Oct 2012, Butlers: Very good, sir
      [...] the newly rich hanker after old aristocratic glitz.

Usage notes

  • Usually used with for, as in the example above; after may also be used.

Translations

Anagrams

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

hanker m, f

  1. indefinite plural of hank

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

Noun

hanker m, f

  1. indefinite feminine plural of hank
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