exoptation

Etymology

From Latin exoptatio.

exoptation means an earnest wishing or desire. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why “exoptation” is a great word

EXOPTATION — [Noun] An earnest or ardent wish or desire. From the Latin exoptatio, exoptationis, from exoptare ("to desire greatly"), from ex- ("thoroughly") + optare ("to choose, wish"). First attested in English in 1633. Unlike "velleity," a faint and idle inclination, or "expectation," a cool anticipation of probability, exoptation is the focused heat of a profound and active longing. It is the exile’s nightly vigil for a homeland’s scent, the prisoner’s fixed gaze at a sliver of sky, the quiet cultivation of a single flower in barren soil—the soul’s quiet, burning proof that it has not yet made its peace with what is.

noun

An earnest wishing or desire.“Come we now to the ſecond, namely the exoptation in theſe words”