avarities

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [a.waːˈrɪ.ti.eːs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [a.vaˈrit.t͡si.es]^[1]

Forms

avāritiēs f (genitive avāritiēī); fifth declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin avārus (“greedy”) + -itiēs, a variant of avāritia.^[2][3][1] ⟨avārus⟩ is from aveō (“to long for”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *awē- (“to be eager”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew-eh₁- (“to enjoy, consume”).^[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest source is Lucretius, avāritiēs et honōrum caeca cupīdō “avarice and the blind lust for honours”.^[3][5] Köbler dates Lucretius 96–55 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant greed of gain, avarice, and Lewis & Short find it perhaps only in Lucretius and Claudian, and Gaffiot also cites Livy.^[2][3][6]

British Medieval Latin used it for avarice, as in the chronicle of John of Oxnead.^[7]

Timeline

• 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it.^[3][5]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it.^[6][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Greed of gain, avarice.^[2]

Related words

• avāritia
• avārus

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press