Literary or formal word for an intense, often emotional or spiritual, longing. Not used for physical thirst (thirst for water is 喉の渇き).
In his heart there was a thirst for knowledge.
The poem sings of love and craving.
A Buddhist term translating a source word meaning “thirst” or “craving,” formed from 渇 “thirst” and 愛 “attachment, craving.”