LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

dēsīderium

dēsīderium n (genitive dēsīderiī or dēsīderī)
Classical[deː.siːˈdɛ.ri.ũː]Ecclesiastical[de.s̬iˈdɛː.ri.um]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. longing, desire, wish (especially for something once possessed)
  2. grief, regret (desire for something lost)
  3. need, necessity
  4. in pluralpleasures, desires

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

dolor quem sentīmus cum id quod amāmus abest.
dēsīderium -ī n — in Mille Verba, Castra in Aegyptō
dolor absentis cārae reī
dēsīderium -ī (n) — in Epistulae, ch. 9
amor reī absentis, cupīdō
dēsīderium -ī (n) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 21

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativedēsīderiumdēsīderia
genitivedēsīderiī
dēsīderī		dēsīderiōrum
dativedēsīderiōdēsīderiīs
accusativedēsīderiumdēsīderia
ablativedēsīderiōdēsīderiīs
vocativedēsīderiumdēsīderia

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

desiderio exardescere
to be consumed with longing.
desiderio alicuius rei teneri, affici (more strongly flagrare, incensum esse)
to long for a thing, yearn for it.

dēsīdĕrĭum, ii, n. desidero,
I. a longing, ardent desire or wish, properly for something once possessed; grief, regret for the absence or loss of any thing (for syn. cf.: optio, optatio, cupido, cupiditas, studium, appetitio, voluntas—freq. and class.).
I. Prop.
(a). With gen. object.: te desiderium Athenarum cepisset, Ter. Hec. 1, 2, 13; cf.: me desiderium tenet urbis, Cic. Fam. 2, 11; Hor. Ep. 1, 14, 22; and, locorum, Ov. Tr. 3, 2, 21: rerum earum, Lucr. 3, 901; cf. id. 3, 922; 918: esse in desiderio alicujus, Cic. Fam. 2, 12 fin.: desiderium conjunctissimi viri ferre, id. Lael. 27, 104: Scipionis desiderio moveri, id. ib. 3, 10: tam cari capitis, Hor. Od. 1, 24, 1: defuncti, Suet. Calig. 6 et saep.: desiderio id fieri tuo (for tui), Ter. Heaut. 2, 3, 66; cf.: voluntas, in qua inest aliqua vis desiderii ad sanandum volnus injuriae, Cic. Fam. 15, 4, 14.—
(b). Absol.: pectora dura tenet desiderium, Enn. ap. Cic. Rep. 1, 41: alicui esse magno desiderio, Ter. Heaut. 4, 5, 5: explere exspectationem diuturni desiderii, Cic. de Or. 1, 47, 205: quo (desiderio) conficior, id. Or. 10: ex desiderio laborare, id. Fam. 6, 11: facere aliquid cum desiderio, id. Lael. 21, 81: demus hoc desiderio jam pene publico, Quint. 8, 4, 29 et saep. In plur.: desideria alicujus commovere, Cic. Rab. perd. 9, 24; Hor. Od. 4, 5, 15 et saep.
II. Trop., of a person, as the object of longing: nunc desiderium, curaque non levis, Hor. Od. 1, 14, 18: desiderio meo nitenti, Catull. 2, 5; and as a term of endearment: mea lux, meum desiderium ... valete, mea desideria, valete, Cic. Fam. 14, 2, 2 fin.; Catull. 2, 5.—
III. Transf.
A. Want, need, necessity, in general (rare; not ante-Aug.): cibi potionisque desiderium naturale, Liv. 21, 4 et saep.: pro desiderio corporum, Plin. 11, 50, 111, § 264: desideria scabendi, id. 30, 14, 43, § 127 al.—
B. In the time of the empire, a request, petition on the part of inferiors: desideria militum ad Caesarem ferenda, Tac. A. 1, 19; 1, 26; Suet. Aug. 17; Plin. Pan. 79, 6; Dig. 1, 16, 9; 25, 3, 5.—
C. Desires, pleasures (late Lat.): servientibus desideriis et voluptatibus, Vulg. Tit. 3, 3: carnis, id. Ephes. 2, 3.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*de
  2. Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
  3. Proto-Italic*dē
  4. Latindēsīderium

Latin de- Latin *sīder- Latin dēsīderō Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -iusnom. Latin -ium Latin dēsīderium From dēsīderō (“want, desire, wish for; miss, lack, need”) + -ium.

Descendants
  • Italiandesiderio
  • Italiandesidero
  • Italiandisiderio
  • Italiandisidero
  • FrenchDidierfrom Latin Desiderius
  • FrenchDizierfrom Latin Desiderius
  • FrenchDisdierfrom Latin Desiderius
  • FrenchDésiréfrom Latin Desiderius
  • ItalianDesiderofrom Latin Desiderius
  • ItalianDisderofrom Latin Desiderius

Quick answers

What does dēsīderium mean in Latin?
dēsīderium, a noun, means “longing, desire, wish (especially for something once possessed); grief, regret (desire for something lost); need, necessity”.
What is the genitive of dēsīderium?
The genitive singular is dēsīderiī. dēsīderium is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce dēsīderium?
In classical Latin, [deː.siːˈdɛ.ri.ũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [de.s̬iˈdɛː.ri.um].
Where does dēsīderium come from?
Proto-Indo-European *de → Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ → Proto-Italic *dē → Latin dēsīderium.