Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
appetency - 4 dictionary results

ap⋅pe⋅ten⋅cy

  [ap-i-tuhn-see]
Use appetency in a Sentence
–noun, plural -cies.
appetence.
Origin:
1620–30; < L appetentia a craving for, equiv. to appetent- (s. of appetēns, prp. of appetere; see appetence ) + -ia -ia; see -ency

ap⋅pe⋅tence

  [ap-i-tuhns]
–noun
1. intense desire; strong natural craving; appetite.
2. instinctive inclination or natural tendency.
3. material or chemical attraction or affinity.
Also, appetency.

Origin:
1600–10; appete (obs.) to seek for, long for (< L appetere, equiv. to ap- ap- 1 + petere to seek) + -ence; or < F appétence

Related forms:
ap⋅pe⋅tent, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To appetency
ap·pe·ten·cy   (āp'ĭ-tən-sē)   
n.   pl. ap·pe·ten·cies
Appetence.

[Latin appetentia; see appetence.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Appetency

Ap"pe*ten*cy\, n.; pl. Appetencies. [L. appetentia, fr. appetere to strive after, long for. See Appetite.]

1. Fixed and strong desire; esp. natural desire; a craving; an eager appetite.

They had a strong appetency for reading. --Merivale.

2. Specifically: An instinctive inclination or propensity in animals to perform certain actions, as in the young to suck, in aquatic fowls to enter into water and to swim; the tendency of an organized body to seek what satisfies the wants of its organism.

These lacteals have mouths, and by animal selection or appetency the absorb such part of the fluid as is agreeable to their palate. --E. Darwin.

3. Natural tendency; affinity; attraction; -- used of inanimate objects.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see appetency on Thesaurus | Reference