Etymologically
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avid

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈæv.ɪd/, /ˈæv.əd/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French avide or directly borrowed from Latin avidus (“longing eagerly, desirous, greedy”),[2][3][4][5][6][7] from aveō (“to long for, crave”).[2][3][8][6] The French word is recorded from 1470.[9] Barnhart thinks it more likely a back-formation in English from avidity, borrowed in 1449, or perhaps from the obsolete avidous, formed about 1542;[9] Etymonline also takes it as partly a back-formation from avidity.[3] The Latin verb is related to avārus (“greedy”), the source of avarice,[9][3][10] and is probably cognate with Welsh ewyllys (“will”),[9] from Proto-Indo-European *aw- (“to desire, favour”).[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ardently desirous, extremely eager, greedy: 1769, in F. Brooke's The History of Emily Montague.[2][9][6][3]

Semantic evolution

The word came into English late, in the 18th century, while avidity had been in use since the 15th.[11][9] Its first sense was eager to the point of greed, and it was usually followed by of or for.[2][6] Dictionary.com notes that the Latin verb covered many degrees of desire, from eagerness to hunger and lust, but that the sense of physical craving is very rare in English; the word is used mostly as a stronger synonym of eager.[11] The milder modern sense, keen and enthusiastic, as in an avid reader, is the one Collins and Merriam-Webster now give first or illustrate most.[12][6] The adverb avidly is recorded from the mid-19th century.[4]

Timeline

  • 1449 – avidity, borrowed from Middle French.[9]
  • 1470 – French avide.[9]
  • c. 1542 – avidous (now obsolete).[9]
  • 1769 – avid, eagerly desirous, greedy.[2][9][6][3]
  • mid 19th century – avidly.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Very keen and enthusiastic; eager in pursuing an interest: an avid birdwatcher.[12][6]
  2. Strongly desirous, to the point of greed; often followed by for or of: avid for applause.[12][6][2]

Word family

  • avidly
  • avidness
  • avidity

Usage notes

Avid, eager and keen all mean strongly desirous: avid suggests a desire close to greed and hard to satisfy, eager a strong and impatient but not overwhelming one, and keen an alert, lively zest.[11]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  10. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  11. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  12. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins