Etymologically
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greed

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is a back-formation from greedy,[2][3][4][5][6][7] which is inherited from Middle English gredi,[4][8] inherited from Old English grǣdig (“voracious, hungry; covetous”),[3][4][7] from Proto-Germanic *grēdagaz,[9][10] a derivative of *grēduz (“hunger”).[11][10][3] Its cognates include Old Saxon grādag (“greedy”), Old High German grātag (“greedy”), Old Norse gráðugr (“greedy”), Dutch gretig and Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌴𐌳𐌰𐌲𐍃 (grēdags, “hungry”).[3][12][7][13] The noun survives in 𐌲𐍂𐌴𐌳𐌿𐍃 (grēdus, “hunger”) and gráðr (“hunger, greed”),[11][7][3] and Old English had it as grǣd, recorded in the dative plural grǣdum, used as an adverb meaning "eagerly".[2][13][7] Hoad calls the Germanic word of unknown origin;[7] Etymonline derives it, possibly, from Proto-Indo-European *gher- (“to like, want”),[3] Kroonen from a root Proto-Indo-European *ǵhreh₁-,[11] and the OED and Klein compare a Sanskrit verb meaning "to be greedy".[2][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Inordinate longing, especially for wealth: 1609, in S. Grahame's Anatomie of Humors.[2][5][13] Etymonline and the Oxford Dictionary of English date it to about 1600 or the late 16th century.[3][6]

Semantic evolution

The word was originally Scottish.[14][15] The adjective greedy had meant both "hungry, voracious" and "covetous" since Old English,[3] and Barnhart dates the Middle English senses "avaricious" to about 1175 and "gluttonous" to before 1200.[13] The back-formed noun was used above all of the desire for wealth, though also of excessive appetite for food or drink.[2][5][16] A rare verb, to be greedy, appeared about 1685, and its transitive use "to long for" in Bulwer-Lytton's Harold (1848).[2][14] In 19th-century slang greed also meant money.[17] In Yorkshire and Suffolk dialect a greed was a greedy person or a miser, and in Scotland and Northumberland the verb meant to covet.[18]

Timeline

  • c. 1175 – gredi, avaricious, from Old English grǣdig.[13]
  • 1609 – greed, inordinate longing, especially for wealth.[2][5]
  • c. 1685 – verb, to be avaricious.[2]
  • 1848 – verb, to long for.[2]
  • 1857 – slang, money.[17]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An excessive and selfish desire for wealth, power or possessions; avarice: The company's greed cost it its customers.
  2. An excessive desire for food or drink; gluttony.

Verb

  1. (rare) To be greedy; to long for something.

Word family

  • greedless
  • greedsome

Usage notes

Dictionary.com distinguishes the two nouns: greed is usually a craving for gain or wealth and is always disapproving, while greediness on its own suggests a craving for food, but can be used of any eager desire, not always critically, as in greediness for learning.[19]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  10. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  11. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  12. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  13. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  14. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  15. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  16. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  17. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  18. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  19. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House