Appetite

Appetite - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

AP'PETITE, n. [L. appetitus, from appeto. See Appetence.]

1. The natural desire of pleasure or good; the desire of gratification, either of the body or of the mind. Appetites are passions directed to general objects, as the appetite for fame, glory or riches; in distinction from passions directed to some particular objects, which retain their proper name, as the passion of love, envy or gratitude. Passion does not exist without an object; natural appetites exist first, and are then directed to objects.

2. A desire of food or drink; a painful sensation occasioned by hunger or thirst.

3. Strong desire; eagerness or longing.

4. The thing desired.

Power being the natural appetite of princes.

Appetites are natural or artificial. Hunger and thirst are natural appetites; the appetites for olives, tobacco, snuff, _c. are artificial.

In old authors, appetite is followed by to, but regularly it should be followed by for before the object, as an appetite for pleasure.

To be given to appetite, is to be voracious or gluttonous. Prov 23:2.

ap'-e-tit (chai, nephesh): This word occurs four times in Old Testament text and once in the King James Version margin. Once (Job 38:39) it is a translation of chai, "life"; "Canst thou .... satisfy the appetite (life) of the young lions?" Twice (Pr 23:2; Ec 6:7; also Isa 56:11, the King James Version margin) it is a translation of nephesh: Pr 23:2, ba`al nephesh "a man given to appetite"; Ec 6:7, "the nephesh is not filled." In Isa 56:11, "strong of nephesh" is translated "greedy." Nephesh means originally "breath," hence "the soul," psuche, "the vital principle," "life"; therefore in certain expressions referring to the sustaining of life the nephesh hungers (Pr 10:3), thirsts (Pr 25:25), fasts (Ps 69:10). Nephesh then comes to mean the seat of the senses, affections, emotions, and to it is ascribed love, joy, desire (compare De 12:20; Pr 6:30 the Revised Version, margin; Mic 7:1, where the nephesh "desires"). The idea of desire or appetite of the nephesh may include all forms of longing; e.g. lust (Jer 2:24; "her desire" is literally "the desire of her nephesh"), the appetite for revenge (Ps 41:2, "the will of his enemies" is literally "the nephesh," etc.). The next step is to identify the nephesh with its desire, hence in the cases above nephesh is translated "appetite." In the 4th case (Isa 29:8) "His soul hath appetite" is a free translation of naphsho shoqeqah, literally "His soul runneth to and fro."

S. F. Hunter