desiderative

A child looks at a toy in a shop window with a desiderative expression.

Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Expressing desire or wish: In grammar, "desiderative" describes a verb form or construction that indicates a desire, wish, or intention to perform an action. It is often used in linguistics to refer to a specific mood or derivational pattern found in some languages (e.g., Sanskrit, Latin, or certain modern languages).

2. Noun:

   • A desiderative form or word: "desiderative" can also refer to a specific linguistic element (such as a verb form or affix) that conveys a wish or desire. For example, in Sanskrit, a desiderative verb like jijīviṣati means "he wishes to live."

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • In Latin, the verb "esurire" is a desiderative form meaning "to wish to eat." (It expresses a desire related to the base verb "edere" – to eat.)
  • Some languages use a desiderative affix to indicate wanting to do something. (An affix that marks desire.)

• Noun:

  • The desiderative in Sanskrit is formed by reduplication and the suffix -sa-. (A specific grammatical category.)
  • Linguists study desideratives to understand how languages encode wishes. (Forms or constructions expressing desire.)

Advanced Usage

• "desiderative mood": A grammatical mood expressing a wish or desire, distinct from optative or subjunctive moods.

  • The desiderative mood is rare in English, but it appears in phrases like "I would like to go." (A mood for wishes.)

• "desiderative construction": A syntactic pattern that conveys a desire, often using verbs like "want," "wish," or "desire."

  • In English, the desiderative construction often involves a complement clause, e.g., "I want to leave." (A structure expressing wish.)

Variants and Related Words

• Desire (n): a strong feeling of wanting something.

  • Her desire for success is evident. (A feeling of wanting.)

• Desideratum (n): something that is needed or wanted.

  • Peace is a desideratum for all nations. (A thing desired.)

• Desiderative suffix (n): a grammatical suffix that adds a meaning of desire to a verb.

  • The desiderative suffix -sk- in some languages creates verbs meaning "to want to X." (A suffix for desire.)

Synonyms

• Optative: relating to or denoting a mood expressing a wish (similar but not identical; optative often implies a hope rather than a strong desire).
• Volitive: expressing a wish or intention (used in linguistics for moods of will).

Related Idioms

• "Wishful thinking": believing something is true or will happen simply because one desires it.

  • His plan is based on wishful thinking, not evidence. (Desire-based belief, not reality.)

• "To have a hankering for": to have a strong desire or craving for something.

  • She has a hankering for chocolate. (A strong wish for something.)