▪ I. thirst, n.
(θɜːst)
Forms: α. 1–4 þurst, 3–5 þorst, 4–5 thurste, 4–6 thurst; 3 (Orm.) þirrst, 3–5 þirst, 4 þerst(e, 5 þirste, 5–6 thyrst(e, 6 thirste, 4– thirst. β. 3 (Orm.) þrisst, 3–5 þrist, 4 threist, threste, þrust(e, þrest (þrast), 4–5 threst, thryst, 4–6 thriste, thrust, thruste, 4–7 thrist, 5 þreste, 5–6 thryste. γ. 4 first, ferst, furst, vurste.
[OE. þurst = OFris. *thurst, *thorst (mod.Fris. torst, toarst, EFris. thurst), OS. thurst (Du. dorst), OHG. (G.) durst:—OTeut. *þurs-tus; cf. ON. þorsti masc. (Sw., Da. törst), Goth. þaurstei fem.; all formed, with nominal suffix, from a verbal stem *þurs- (cf. Gothic þaurseiþ mik I thirst):—Indo-Eur. *trs, weak grade of *ters: *tors: *trs. Cf. L. torrēre to dry, Skr. trš to thirst.
The change from thurst to thirst was prob. an assimilation of the n. to the form of the vb. The metathetic thrist, thrust, was in use from c 1200 to 1590.]
1. a. The uneasy or painful sensation caused by want of drink; also, the physical condition resulting from this want.
| α c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 192 Do þis wið maᵹan bryne & þurste. c 1050 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia (1885) VIII. 336 Win & beor eall to ecum þurste awend. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 79 He hefde þurst and hunger. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 75 He ne mai þolen hunger ne þirst ne oðer pine. c 1200 Ormin 14602 Þatt maȝȝ þe slekkenn wel þin þirrst. a 1225 Ancr. R. 114 He..mende him ase of þurst. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 10176 Þey deyde for hunger & þirst. 1340 Ayenb. 139 He soffreþ and honger an þorst. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xx. 19 He dronke at eche diche ar he for thurste deyde. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 2810 Feynt & pal for hungre & for þerst. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 491/2 Thyrste, or thryste, sitis. 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. i. xiii. 34 They ouercome theyre enemyes more by thurst than by armes. 1508 Fisher Penit. Ps. cii. Wks. (1876) 179 That may suffre & endure grete labours, watchynge, pouerte, thurst, hungre, colde, & hete. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 470 Let thy Goats..be..led to living Streams, to quench their Thirst. 1738 Gray Propertius iii. 89 The long thirst of Tantalus allay. 1858 O. W. Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. ix. 79 Thirst belongs to humanity, everywhere, in all ages. |
| β c 1200 Ormin 1615, & pinenn þær þi bodiȝ a Wiþþ chele & þrisst & hunngerr. c 1220 Bestiary 320 He haueð ðrist. c 1300 Harrow. Hell 50 (MS. E.) Seþþen haue y fond & wist Hot & cold, hunger & þrest. 13.. Sir Beues (A.) 2791 Beues hadde þanne swich þrast. a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxlii. 7 Slokyn my threst. c 1375 XI Pains of Hell 156 in O.E. Misc. 215 Þai schil haue hongir and þrust wereeuer þai gon. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) viii. 30 Þai made murmuracion agaynes him by cause of thrist. c 1440 Jacob's Well 147 Be þe weye thedyrward, he hadde thrust. 1530 Palsgr. 163 Soyf, thrust. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) II. 219 Vter drank for to cuill his thrist. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. vi. 17 Him..that..Will die for thrist, and water doth refuse. |
| γ 13.. S. Eng. Leg. in Herrig Archiv LXXXII. 395/68 For drede of gret hongir & ferst. c 1325 Song of Mercy 53 in E.E.P. (1862) 120 Ne neuer my furst ne woldestou slake. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 269 He brende for first [v.r. vurste]. |
† b. (See
quot.)
dial. Obs.| 1741 Compl. Fam.-Piece iii. (ed. 3) 504 Swine..are subject to a Distemper which is called the Thirst, or Lungs, according to some Farmers. |
c. Short for
thirstland: see 3.
| 1906 Blackw. Mag. Sept. 394/2 Getting a span of oxen through the long ‘thirsts’, as the waterless stretches of road are expressively called. |
2. fig. A vehement desire (
of (
arch.),
for,
after something,
to do something).
| c 1200 Ormin 5688 All hiss hunngerr & hiss þrisst Shall ben þurrh Drihhtin sleckedd. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. ii. met. ii, The more ay brenneth in Hem the thurst of hauynge. c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 219 Thi thrust to shedde mans blode was neuer wery. a 1541 Wyatt Penit. Ps. cxxx. 27 To quench of sleep the thrust. 1554 Knox Faythf. Admon. D vj, An earnest thrist..of your saluacion. 1607 Shakes. Cor. i. i. 25 Not in thirst for Reuenge. 1669 Gale Crt. Gentiles i. i. i. 2 Those infinite thirsts after truth. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 83 ¶1 That thirst after curiosities, which often draws contempt and ridicule upon itself. 1812 Cary Dante, Paradise iv. 121 Our mind can satisfy her thirst to know. 1831 Scott Ct. Rob. xiii, The more lofty-minded..despise the thirst of gold. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 657 It may be distinctly traced..either to thirst for money or to thirst for blood. 1851 Dixon W. Penn xxxi. (1872) 296 In his thirst for knowledge he was in the habit of studying every sect. |
3. attrib. and
Comb., as
thirst-fever,
thirst-longing,
thirst-quencher;
thirst-abating,
thirst-creating,
thirst-inducing,
thirst-mad,
thirst-making,
thirst-quenching,
thirst-scorched,
thirst-tormented adjs.;
thirst-country,
-land, a waterless tract of country,
spec. in S. Africa;
thirst-serpent (see
quot.).
| 1708 J. Philips Cyder ii. 63 The Root For *Thirst-abating Sweetness prais'd. |
| 1895 J. G. Millais Breath fr. Veldt (1899) 170 If you are in a ‘*Thirst’ country, you take, of course, a water-bottle. |
| 1781 Cowper Conversat. 262 The riotous abuse Thy *thirst-creating steams at length produce. |
| 1829 T. Hook Bank to Barnes 49 These cows had just finished their *thirst-inducing meal. |
| 1878 P. Gillmore (title) The great *thirstland: a trek through Natal, Transvaal, Orange Free State and the Kalahari Desert. 1889 Farmer Americanisms 532/1 The region of extinct lakes and inland seas of Southern Nevada and South-eastern California is the great thirstland of the continent. 1895 J. G. Millais Breath fr. Veldt (1899) 184 We entered the great forest Thirstland... In this expanse of some hundred square miles there is but one waterhole. 1908 J. Wells Stewart of Lovedale xviii. 182 Without crossing the Karoo and great Thirst-land of Unbelief. |
| c 1614 Campion Wks. (1909) 179 A heate I finde, Like *thirst-longing, that doth bide Where they say my heart doth moue. |
| 1969 G. MacBeth War Quartet 68 They..lived As beasts, *thirst-mad. |
| 1952 J. Cannan Body in Beck ii. 41 Will you excuse me if I beetle through for another pint?.. That's a *thirst-making rock if ever there was one. |
| 1908 Daily Chron. 3 Jan. 3/6 He prefers pure water as a *thirst-quencher. |
| 1895 Westm. Gaz. 19 Mar. 8/2 This orange wine is most refreshing and *thirst-quenching. |
| 1861 W. F. Collier Hist. Eng. Lit. 443 In view of the *thirst-scorched seamen. |
| 1731 Medley tr. Kolben's Cape G. Hope II. 165 The Dipsas or *Thirst-Serpent is so call'd from its bite causing a burning thirst. |
▪ II. thirst, v. (
θɜːst)
Forms: α. 1
ð-,
þyrst, 2–4
þirst-, 3–4
þurst- (ü), (4
furst-), 4–6
thurst-, 5–6
thyrst-, 5–
thirst. β. 4
þryst-,
þrist-,
þrest-, 4–6
thrust-, 5
thryst-, 5–6
threst-,
thrist-.
[OE. þyrstan, f. þurst thirst n. Cf. OS. thurstian (Du. dorsten), OHG. dursten (G. dürsten), ON. þyrsta (Sw. törsta, Da. törste).] † 1. impers. as in
me thirsteth, ‘it thirsts me’, I am thirsty. (In
OE. with
accus. of person and
gen. of thing, or with
dat. of person.)
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. ii. 30 Ðeah ðæt folc ðyrste ðære lare. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John xix. 28 Þa cwæð he, me þyrst. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 194 Þa men ne þyrst. c 1200 Ormin 14603 Ȝiff þatt iss þatt te þirrsteþþ. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 199 Hire þurst swiðe. a 1300 Cursor M. 23085 Me thristed sare, drinc yee me broght. c 1386 Chaucer Monk's T. 49 So thursted hym, that he Was wel ny lorn. c 1440 York Myst. xxxvi. 221 A! me thristis sare. |
2. intr. To feel or suffer thirst; to be thirsty. Also
transf., e.g of parched ground or plants. Somewhat
arch.| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. John xix. 28 Cuoeð ic ðyrsto. c 975 Rushw. Gosp. John iv. 14 Seðe wutudlice drinceð of wætre dæt ic selo him ne ðyrstet in ecnisse. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 5771, I thrested, and yhe me na drynk bedde. 1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. iv. 11 We hungren, and thirsten, and ben nakid. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xliv. (Bodl. MS.), Euerich beeste with lunges þrusteþ moche. 14.. Lybeaus Disc. (1890) 1426 Sir Libeaus þursted sore And seide..To drinke let me go. 1530 Palsgr. 757/1, I Thrust, I want drinke. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 146 You shall gyue them water as oft as they thirst. 1611 Bible Isa. lv. 1 Ho, euery one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. 1649, 1770, 1820 [see thirsting ppl. a.]. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxviii. 79 Bloodless of high sacrifice, Now thirsts each desolate altar! 1875 [see thirsty 1]. |
3. fig. To have a longing, craving, or strong desire. Const. in
OE. with
gen.,
= of; later
after,
for (
† to) something,
to do something.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. ii. iv. §10 Þu þe þyrstende wære monnes blodes. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xlii. (Agatha) 87 Scho thristyt..for till cume til hewynnis kyng. 1388 Wyclif Ps. lxii. 2 [lxiii. 1] Mi soule thirstide to thee; my fleisch thirstide to thee ful many foold. 1419 in Sharpe Lond. & Kingd. (1894–5) III. 363 Your poure lieges þat have loong thrusted after knowlech of your prosperite. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VII 25 b, The Frenche nacion..thrusted for the blood..of the poore Brytones. 1601 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 157 The Turkish Emperor..thirsting to open a way into Moscouie. 1791 Burke App. Whigs Wks. VI. 203 It is not necessary to teach men to thirst after power. 1858 G. Macdonald Phantastes v. (1878) 75, I entered, thirsting for the shade which it promised. |
† 4. trans. To desire vehemently; to long for.
Obs.| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. v. 6 Eadᵹe biðon ða ðe hyncgrað & ðyrstas soðfæstnisse. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. ibid., Eadiᵹe synt þa ðe rihtwisnesse hingriað & þyrstað. c 1050 Liber Scintill. x. 49. a 1340 Hampole Psalter, Cant. 506 Erthly kyngis þat threstis mannys blode. 1382 Wyclif Matt. v. 6 Blessid be thei that hungren and thristen riȝtwisnesse, for thei shuln ben fulfillid. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) III. 471 Ye thruste golde..and couette honoure. 1527 Tindale Obed. Chr. Man To Rdr. 20 b, Sufficient vnto them that thirst the trueth. 1593 Queen Elizabeth Boeth. i. iv. 11 Wicked men, that thursted the blud of all the senate. 1718 Prior Solomon i. 203 He seeks his keeper's flesh, and thirsts his blood. |
Hence
† ˈthirsted ppl. a., longed for.
| c 1611 Chapman Iliad xxii. 277 His bright and sparkling eyes..sought through all that prise The next way to his thirsted life. |