ˈapəˌtīt, usu -īd.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English appetit, apetit, from Middle French apetit, from Latin appetitus, from appetitus, past participle of appetere to strive after, long for, from ad- + petere to go to, head for — more at feather
1. : a natural desire : one of the instinctive desires necessary to keep up organic life ; especially : the immediate desire to eat when food is present
2.
a. : an inherent or habitual desire or propensity for gratification or satisfaction
an appetite for life, a robust reaching out to life — V.S.Pritchett
an insatiable appetite
appetite for the acquisition of more territory — A.J.Toynbee
b. : taste , liking , preference
a faculty for idleness implies a catholic appetite — R.L.Stevenson
the cultural appetites of the time — J.D.Hart
c. obsolete : appetency 2
3. archaic : an object of desire
power being the natural appetite of princes — Jonathan Swift
Synonyms: see desire