Q1: Is ākaṅkhati the closest we get to an EBT concept of hoping for something?
Q2: Did this take on a more nuanced meaning than its Sanskrit root?
In the Maṅgalasutta (Kp5) we read:
“Many gods and humans
“Bahū devā manussā ca,have thought about blessings
maṅgalāni acintayuṁ;desiring well-being:
Ākaṅkhamānā sotthānaṁ
I was intrigued by the pāli word ākaṅkhamānā and by extension ākaṅkhati.
Upon further research I learned it has its own dedicated sutta title: Ākaṅkheyyasutta (MN6). All four of the English-language translators agree on the exact same verb “to wish” as in “One Might Wish” (Bhante Sujato’s translation).
When I looked at several other uses of ākaṅkhati in the suttas I saw a handful similar to its use in MN6 as well as “wishing to go forth” (ākaṅkhati pabbajjaṁ) and “wanting merit” (puññaṁ ākaṅkhamānena). So there’s this aspirational feel to it, nothing more.
(Granted, the aspirational can be inspirational 
.)
Then I researched its sanskrit root kāṅkṣ. Per the Wisdom Library, the Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary gives these translations:
to wish, desire, long for, hope for (with [accusative]), expect, wait for, await …
However, when I looked at the associated Bhagavad Gita reference, it seems associated with dukkha, almost as if it takes on a taṇhā quality.
One situated in the transcendental Brahman realization becomes mentally serene, neither grieving nor desiring. Being equitably disposed toward all living beings, such a yogi attains supreme devotion unto Me.
