# longing

Pronunciation: US say "LAWNG-ing" /ˈlɔːŋɪŋ/; UK say "LONG-ing" /ˈlɒŋɪŋ/

## Noun

1. An earnest, deep desire that is more melancholic than passionate, colored by quiet sadness rather than fiery wanting.
   - Simple: A deep, quiet wish for something or someone, often mixed with sadness.
   - _A lifelong longing for the village of her childhood stayed with her into old age._
   - _His letters home were full of longing for a future the war had quietly stolen._
3. Taking a long position: buying a security or other financial instrument in anticipation that its value will increase.
   - Simple: Buying a stock or asset because you expect its price to go up later.
   - _The fund spent the quarter longing emerging-market equities while shorting U.S. tech._
   - _After the rate cut, longing the yen became one of the most crowded trades on the desk._

## Verb

2. Present participle of long. — present participle and gerund of long
   - Simple: Present participle of long. Use this form for the ongoing act of wanting something very much.
   - _He spent the whole winter longing for warmer days and open windows._
   - _Crowds gathered at the dock, longing for a first glimpse of the returning ship._

## Origin

**Meaning 2** — From Middle English longynge, from Old English langiende, the present participle of Proto-Germanic *langōną ("to desire, long for"); effectively long plus the present-participle ending -ing.
**Meanings 1, 3** — From Middle English longinge, from Old English longung ("longing, desire"), from Proto-Germanic *langungō, a gerund of *langōną ("to desire, long for"); effectively long plus the -ing ending.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/longing (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).