avide

Forms

avide (plural avides)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin avidus (“greedy, eager”), from aveō (“to desire eagerly”).^[2][3][4][1] Rey calls the origin of the Latin verb obscure, and notes that its derivatives also gave French audace, avare and oser.^[2] The noun avidité was borrowed from Latin aviditās about the same time (1389 in Rey, 1491 in Bloch and Wartburg).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1470, in the Livre de la discipline d'amour divine, in the general sense of having an ardent desire for something.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

In 1567 the word was borrowed again in the narrower Latin sense “gluttonous, greedy for food”, found in Plautus, but it kept its wider value.^[2] The extended sense “expressing desire”, as in eyes that look on with longing, is found at the beginning of the 18th century, as it already was in Latin.^[2] From the 18th century, like avidité, it is also used of a person greedy for money, which brings it close to its cousin avare.^[2]

The adverb avidement (1555) first referred to gluttony; its figurative use is found in Agrippa d'Aubigné in the early 17th century.^[2]

Timeline

• 1470 – First recorded, in the Livre de la discipline d'amour divine.^[5][3]
• 1555 – The adverb avidement appears, of eating greedily.^[2]
• 1567 – Borrowed again in the Latin sense “gluttonous”.^[2]
• Early 18th century – Used of what expresses desire.^[2]
• 18th century – Used of a person greedy for money.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Having an ardent, immoderate desire for food, greedy, voracious: un chiot avide.^[6][7]
2. Avide de: eagerly desirous of something, avid: avide de reconnaissance, avide de comprendre.^[6][8]
3. (literary) Avide de sang: delighting in bloodshed.^[6][9]
4. Immoderately desirous of wealth and money, grasping, covetous.^[6][9]
5. Expressing eager desire or close attention: des yeux avides, suivre le récit d'une oreille avide.^[8][7][5]

Word family

• avidement

Related words

• avidité
• avare
• audace
• oser
• Latin avidus

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
8. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette