Eadish
(Ead"ish) n. See Eddish.
Eager
(Ea"ger) a. [OE. egre sharp, sour, eager, OF. agre, aigre, F. aigre, fr. L. acer sharp, sour,
spirited, zealous; akin to Gr. highest, extreme, Skr. ara point; fr. a root signifying to be sharp. Cf. Acrid,
Edge.]
1. Sharp; sour; acid. [Obs.] "Like eager droppings into milk." Shak.
2. Sharp; keen; bitter; severe. [Obs.] "A nipping and an eager air." "Eager words." Shak.
3. Excited by desire in the pursuit of any object; ardent to pursue, perform, or obtain; keenly desirous; hotly
longing; earnest; zealous; impetuous; vehement; as, the hounds were eager in the chase.
And gazed for tidings in my eager eyes.
Shak.
How eagerly ye follow my disgraces!
Shak.
When to her eager lips is brought
Her infant's thrilling kiss.
Keble.
A crowd of eager and curious schoolboys.
Hawthorne.
Conceit and grief an eager combat fight.
Shak. 4. Brittle; inflexible; not ductile. [Obs.]
Gold will be sometimes so eager, as artists call it, that it will as little endure the hammer as glass itself.
Locke. Syn. — Earnest; ardent; vehement; hot; impetuous; fervent; intense; impassioned; zealous; forward. See Earnest.
— Eager, Earnest. Eager marks an excited state of desire or passion; thus, a child is eager for a
plaything, a hungry man is eager for food, a covetous man is eager for gain. Eagerness is liable to
frequent abuses, and is good or bad, as the case may be. It relates to what is praiseworthy or the contrary.
Earnest denotes a permanent state of mind, feeling, or sentiment. It is always taken in a good sense; as,
a preacher is earnest in his appeals to the conscience; an agent is earnest in his solicitations.
Eager
(Ea"ger), n. Same as Eagre.
Eagerly
(Ea"ger*ly), adv. In an eager manner.
Eagerness
(Ea"ger*ness), n.
1. The state or quality of being eager; ardent desire. "The eagerness of love." Addison.
2. Tartness; sourness. [Obs.]
Syn. — Ardor; vehemence; earnestness; impetuosity; heartiness; fervor; fervency; avidity; zeal; craving; heat; passion; greediness.
Eagle
(Ea"gle) n. [OE. egle, F. aigle, fr. L. aquila; prob. named from its color, fr. aquilus dark-colored,
brown; cf. Lith. aklas blind. Cf. Aquiline.]
1. (Zoöl.) Any large, rapacious bird of the Falcon family, esp. of the genera Aquila and Haliæetus. The
eagle is remarkable for strength, size, graceful figure, keenness of vision, and extraordinary flight. The
most noted species are the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaëtus); the imperial eagle of Europe (A. mogilnik or
imperialis); the American bald eagle (Haliæetus leucocephalus); the European sea eagle (H. albicilla); and
the great harpy eagle (Thrasaetus harpyia). The figure of the eagle, as the king of birds, is commonly
used as an heraldic emblem, and also for standards and emblematic devices. See Bald eagle, Harpy,
and Golden eagle.
