eager

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈiːɡə/ (UK); /ˈiɡɚ/, /ˈɪɡɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English egre, borrowed from Old French aigre (“sour, sharp, keen, eager”), Anglo-Norman egre,^[2][3][4] from Vulgar Latin *ācrus (source also of Italian agro and Spanish agrio),^[3][2] from Latin ācer, sharp, keen, ardent (see acrid),^[2][3][5] from Proto-Indo-European *ak-, to be sharp.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Impatient, keen; strenuous, ardent, fierce: about 1275 in Barnhart, the late 13th century in Etymonline.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Full of keen desire, the main modern sense, is from the early 14th century and seems peculiar to English.^[3] The physical senses, pungent, sour or tart (about 1350–74) and of cold, biting (1602, after Shakespeare), are obsolete or archaic.^[6][3] The spelling eager began to appear at the end of the 16th century and was in general use by the later 17th.^[2] Eager beaver, a glutton for work, is American forces slang from 1943.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1275 – impatient, ardent.^[2]
• early 14th century – keenly desirous.^[3]
• c. 1350 – sour.^[6]
• 1602 – of cold, biting.^[6]
• 1943 – eager beaver.^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Having or showing keen interest, desire or impatience.
2. (archaic) Tart, sharp or biting.

Word family

• eagerly
• eagerness
• overeager
• uneager
• eager beaver

Related words

• acrid
• acid
• vinegar
• acerbic

Usage notes

Eager is also a variant of eagre, a tidal bore.^[7][6] In northern English and Cheshire dialect, eager meant angry.^[8]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)