greed

C2+ Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives

US /ɡriːd/ UK /ɡriːd/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
an excessive desire for wealth or possessions

His greed eventually cost him every friend he had.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an excessive desire for... avarice cupidity covetousness rapacity gluttonyacquisitiveness

Opposites

generosity altruism temperance abstinence

Word family

Derived forms greedy greediness

Related forms greedy greedyguts

Etymology

Back-formation from greedy, from Old English grædig ('hungry, covetous'), from Proto-Germanic *grēdugaz, from *grēduz ('hunger'); related to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to be greedy, hungry'.

grædig Old English *grēduz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary

External links

# greed

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɡriːd/
**IPA (UK):** /ɡriːd/

## Meanings
1. an excessive desire for wealth or possessions

## Examples
- His greed eventually cost him every friend he had.

## Synonyms
- avarice
- cupidity
- covetousness
- rapacity
- gluttony
- acquisitiveness

## Antonyms
- generosity
- altruism
- temperance
- abstinence

## Derived Forms
- greedy
- greediness

## Related Forms
- greedy
- greedyguts

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: grædig
- Root: *grēduz

## Etymology
Back-formation from greedy, from Old English grædig ('hungry, covetous'), from Proto-Germanic *grēdugaz, from *grēduz ('hunger'); related to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to be greedy, hungry'.

## AI Etymology
Greed is a back-formation from greedy, from Old English grædig ('hungry, covetous'), from Proto-Germanic *grēdugaz, from *grēduz ('hunger'); related to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to be greedy, hungry'. Its formation runs backward from an existing longer form, producing a shorter base that then carries the same family of senses. As a noun, it denotes "an excessive desire for wealth or possessions", keeping the historical idea close to its dictionary sense. Relevant historical forms include Old English grædig and Proto-Germanic *grēduz. Derivative forms include greedy, greediness; related words include greedy, greedyguts.

## Topics
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- General Vocabulary

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