Emily Dickinson Lexicon

YEARN, or YERN, v.i. [Sax. geornian, giernan, gyrnan, earnian, to desire; to yearn; Sw. gerna, willingly; Dan. gierne, G. gern, D. gaarne. The sense is to strain, or stretch forward. We have earnest from the same root.]

1. To be strained; to be pained or distressed; to suffer. Falstaff, he is dead, And we must yearn therefore. Shak.
2. Usually, to long; to feel an earnest desire; that is literally, to have a desire or inclination stretching toward the object or end. 1 Kings iii. Joseph made haste, for his bowels did yearn upon his brother. Gen. xliii. Your mother's heart yearns toward you. Addison. Anticlus, unable to control, Spoke loud the language of his yearning soul. Pope.