Emily Dickinson Lexicon

HANK'ER, v.i. [D. hunkeren. The corresponding word in Danish is higer, and probably n is casual.]

1. To long for with a keen appetite and uneasiness; in a literal sense; as, to hanker for fruit, or after fruit.
2. To have a vehement desire of something, accompanied with uneasiness; as, to hanker after the diversions of the town. Addison. It is usually followed by after. It is a familiar, but not a low word.