Old English giernan (West Saxon), geornan (Mercian), giorna (Northumbrian) "to strive, be eager, desire, seek for, beg, demand," from Proto-Germanic *gernjan (source also of Gothic gairnjan "to desire," German begehren "to desire;" Old High German gern, Old Norse gjarn "desirous," Old English georn "eager, desirous," German gern "gladly, willingly"), from PIE root *gher- (2) "to like, want." Related: Yearned; yearning.

"eager desire to possess something," mid-15c., from Anglo-French cupidite and directly from Latin cupiditatem (nominative cupiditas) "passionate desire, lust; ambition," from cupidus "eager, passionate," from cupere "to desire." This is perhaps from a PIE root *kup-(e)i- "to tremble; to desire," and cognate with Sanskrit kupyati "bubbles up, becomes agitated;" Old Church Slavonic kypeti "to boil;" Lithuanian kupėti "to boil over;" Old Irish accobor "desire."

Despite the primarily erotic sense of the Latin word, in English cupidity originally, and still especially, means "desire for wealth."

mid-15c., "lustful, inclined to lust," from Medieval Latin lasciviosus (used in a scolding sense by Isidore and other early Church writers), from Latin lascivia "lewdness, playfulness, fun, frolicsomeness, jolity," from lascivus "lewd, playful, undesigned, frolicsome, wanton."

This is from PIE *las-ko-, from the root *las- "to be eager, wanton, or unruly" (source also of Sanskrit -lasati "yearns," lasati "plays, frolics," Hittite ilaliya- "to desire, covet," Greek laste "harlot," Old Church Slavonic laska "flattery," Slovak laska "love," Russian lasyj "greedy, eager, affectionate," Old Irish lainn "greedy, eager," Gothic lustus, Old English lust "lust").

Meaning "tending to excite lust" is from 1580s. Related: Lasciviously. In 17c. also with a verbal form, lasciviate, now obsolete.

1826, "pertaining to or involving competition," from Latin competit-, past participle stem of competere (see compete) + -ive. Meaning "eager to compete, aggressive, ambitious" is by 1977. Related: Competitively; competitiveness.

late 14c., "eager, assiduous; attentive, paying attention," from Old French ententif, intentif "attentive, solicitous, assiduous" (12c.), from Late Latin intentivus, from intent-, past-participle stem of Latin intendere "turn one's attention" (see intend). Related: Intentively; intentiveness.

"rise up on the hind legs," as a horse, lion, etc., 1833, dialectal variant of rear (v.1). Sense of "eager" (in raring to go) is recorded by 1909. Related: Rared; raring.