Advertisement

Origin and history of avarice

avarice(n.)

c. 1300, "inordinate desire of gaining and possessing wealth," fifth of the seven deadly sins, from Old French avarice "greed, covetousness" (12c.), from Latin avaritia "greed, inordinate desire," from avarus "greedy, grasping," adjectival form of avere "crave, long for, be eager," from Proto-Italic *awe- "to be eager," from PIE *heu-eh- "to enjoy, consume" (source also of Sanskrit avasa- "refreshment, food," avisya- "gluttony;" Welsh ewyllys "will;" Armenian aviwn "lust").

In Middle English it also was used of immoderate desire for knowledge, glory, power, etc., but it "has become limited, except in figurative uses, so as to express only a sordid and mastering desire to get wealth" [Century Dictionary].

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to avarice

audacious(adj.)

1540s, "confident, intrepid, daring," from French audacieux, from audace "boldness," from Latin audacia "daring, boldness, courage," from audax "brave, bold, daring," but more often "bold" in a bad sense, "rash, foolhardy," from audere "to dare, be bold," which de Vaan says is derived from avidus "greedy" (see avarice). In English, the bad sense of "shameless, unrestrained by propriety" is attested from 1590s. Related: Audaciously; audaciousness.

avaricious(adj.)

late 14c., "miserly, stingy;" early 15c., "greedy, covetous," from Old French avaricios "greedy, covetous" (Modern French avaricieux), from avarice "greed" (see avarice). An Old English word for it was feoh-georn. Related: Avariciously; avariciousness.

Advertisement

More to explore

cupidity
"eager desire to possess something," mid-15c., from Anglo-French cupidite and directly from Latin cupiditatem (nominative cupiditas) "passionate desire, lust; ambition," from cupidus "eager, passionate," from cupere "to desire." This is perhaps from a PIE root *kup-(e)i- "to trem
frugality
It is constantly, of course, associated with avarice ; but quite as frequently with generosity, and is often merely an extreme...
largesse
In medieval theology, "the virtue whose opposite is avarice, and whose excess is prodigality" [The Middle English Compendium...
dame
Used in Middle English with personifications (Study, Avarice, Fortune, Richesse, Nature, Misericordie)....
hedge
Old English hecg "hedge," originally any fence, living or artificial, from West Germanic *hagjo (source also of Middle Dutch hegge, Dutch heg, Old High German hegga, German Hecke "hedge"), from a verb *hagjanan, from PIE root *kagh- "to catch, seize; wickerwork, fence" (source al
experiment
mid-14c., "action of observing or testing; an observation, test, or trial;" also "piece of evidence or empirical proof; feat of magic or sorcery," from Old French esperment "practical knowledge, cunning; enchantment, magic spell; trial, proof, example; lesson, sign, indication,"
pragmatic
1610s, "meddlesome, impertinently busy," short for earlier pragmatical, or else from French pragmatique (15c.), from Latin pragmaticus "skilled in business or law," from Greek pragmatikos "fit for business, active, business-like; systematic," from pragma (genitive pragmatos) "a d
vaccination
1800, used by British physician Edward Jenner (1749-1823) for the technique he publicized of preventing smallpox by injecting people with the similar but much milder cowpox virus (variolae vaccinae), from vaccine (adj.) "pertaining to cows, from cows" (1798), from Latin vaccinus
godspeed
also God speed, by late 14c., "(I wish that) God (may) grant you success," from God + speed (v.) in its old sense of "prosper, grow rich, succeed." Specifically as a salutation by mid-15c. Also in Middle English as an adverb, "quickly, speedily" (early 14c.); the then-identically
diamond
mid-14c., diamaunt, diamond, "extremely hard and refractive precious stone made of pure or nearly pure carbon," from Old French diamant, from Medieval Latin diamantem (nominative diamas), from Vulgar Latin *adiamantem (which was subsequently altered by influence of the many Greek

Share avarice

Advertisement
Trending
Dictionary entries near avarice
Advertisement