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. a&?;ra 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.
Ea"ger, n. Same as
Eagre.
