desirer

Desirer is a rarely used English noun that denotes a person who desires. In modern general writing the term is uncommon; when it appears, it tends to occur in academic, philosophical, or linguistic contexts as an abstract or technical label for the subject who has desires.

Etymology and usage. Desirer is formed by adding the agentive suffix -er to the verb to desire, a word derived from Old French and ultimately from Latin desiderare, meaning to long for or require. In English, the more common noun for the mental state is "desire," and desirer as a standalone noun is largely literary or specialized. In many discussions, the concept is framed not as a stand-alone word but as the relationship between a desiring subject and their desires.

In philosophical and psychological contexts, desirer may be used to refer to the agent of desire—the entity whose motivational states motivate action. This usage appears in discussions of desire theories of action, agency, and motivation, where it is helpful to distinguish between the mental state of desire and the subject who embodies or acts on that state. The term is typically defined by its role rather than by a distinct set of properties.

In French, the verb désirer means to desire, while English readers rarely encounter desirer outside specialized texts. Related terms include desire (the state or feeling), desirable (something worthy of desire), and desirability (the quality of being desirable). Desirer remains a niche term best understood within its particular scholarly or historical contexts.