greedy English · revision 39891

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Old English|origins=gem-pro *grēduz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈɡɹiːdi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|gredy]], [[inh|ang|grǣdig|t=voracious, hungry, covetous]],^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|gem-pro|*grēdagaz]],^(Etymonline)^(Orel 2003) an adjective formed on [[m|gem-pro|*grēduz|t=hunger, greed]].^(Etymonline)^(Orel 2003)^(OED 2026) The noun survives in [[got|𐌲𐍂𐌴𐌳𐌿𐍃|tr=grēdus|t=hunger]] and [[m|non|gráðr|t=greed, hunger]], and in Old English only in a dative plural form meaning "eagerly".^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) The cognate adjectives are [[osx|grādag]], [[goh|grātag]], [[m|non|gráðugr]], [[nl|gretig]] and [[got|𐌲𐍂𐌴𐌳𐌰𐌲𐍃|tr=grēdags|t=hungry]].^(OED 2026)^(Klein 1966)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Its further origin is uncertain: Hoad and the Shorter Oxford call the base unexplained,^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) while the OED, Klein and Skeat compare [[sa|गृध्|tr=gṛdh|t=to be greedy]],^(OED 2026)^(Klein 1966)^(Skeat 1911) and Etymonline, Barnhart and Orel refer it to the Indo-European root [[ine-pro|*ǵʰer-|t=to like, want]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Orel 2003) with Orel comparing [[grc|χαίρω|tr=khaírō|t=to rejoice]].^(Orel 2003) The noun [[greed]] is a back-formation from the adjective, recorded from 1609.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English ''grǣdig'' meant both "ravenous, hungry for food" and "covetous, eager for gain";^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) Barnhart dates the covetous sense to about 725, in ''Beowulf'',^(Barnhart 1988) and the OED's first quotations come from the Blickling Homilies and ''Solomon and Saturn''.^(OED 2026) In some early examples it means simply "hungry".^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Barnhart finds the Middle English ''gredi'' first in the sense "avaricious" (about 1175), and "gluttonous" a little later.^(Barnhart 1988) About 1300 the word widened to "eager, keen" in general, with an obsolete sense "zealous";^(OED 2026) from about 1385, in Chaucer, it described actions and feelings marked by eager desire.^(OED 2026) It was applied to the stomach and appetite from 1526,^(OED 2026) and Elizabethan writers used it of prey that was greedily pursued (1590–1648).^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) gave "ravenous, voracious, hungry" as the first sense, quoting the psalm verse "as a lion that is greedy of his prey".^(Johnson 1755) In 18th-century chemistry it described substances that absorb readily.^(OED 2026) In northern and Midland dialect (Cumberland, Yorkshire, Leicestershire) ''greedy'' could mean "saving, careful with money" as well as "covetous", and the dialects formed compounds such as ''greedy-guts'', a glutton.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – ''grǣdig'', covetous (in ''Beowulf'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * Old English – ravenous; covetous.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1175 – ''gredi'', avaricious.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a1300 – eager, keen in general.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1385 – of feelings and actions (Chaucer).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1526 – of the stomach or appetite.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1609 – the back-formation ''greed''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1758 – (chemistry) absorbing readily.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Wanting more [[food]], [[money]] or [[possession]]s than one needs; [[avaricious]] or [[gluttonous]]: ''a greedy landlord who raises the rent every year''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Very eager or keen for something: ''greedy for praise''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[greedily]]

+ * [[greediness]]

+ * [[greed]]

+ * [[overgreedy]]

+ * [[ungreedy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[yearn]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}