Other forms: lusts
Lust is strong sexual desire, or a craving for something. Lust for power, a lust for life, driven by lust.
The non-sexual uses are common and neutral — a lust for life is praise. It was one of the seven deadly sins, which is why the word carries moral weight the plainer desire does not. The Old English lust simply meant pleasure or longing.
1nounlustStrong sexual desire.
“The novel is a dark story of lust, jealousy and murder.”
2nouncravingA strong craving for something.
“His lust for power made him betray his closest friends.”
lust is a desire.
Old English lust means pleasure or longing, from a Germanic root. German Lust still means desire or enjoyment in general.
Proto-Germanic
*lustuz
Proto-West Germanic
*lustu
Old English
lust — lust, pleasure, longing
Middle English
lust
English, today
lust
From Middle English lust, from Old English lust (“lust, pleasure, longing”), from Proto-West Germanic lustu, from Proto-Germanic lustuz. Akin to Old Saxon -, Dutch lust, Old Frisian -, Old High German -, German Lust, Swedish lust, Danish lyst, Icelandic lyst, Old Norse losti, Gothic 𐌻𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌿𐍃, and perhaps to Sanskrit लष्, लषति (“to desire”) and Albanian lushë (“bitch, savage dog, promiscuous woman”), or to English loose. Compare list (“to please”), listless.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA