greed
English
Etymology
Back-formation from greedy.
Pronunciation
- enPR: grēd, IPA(key): /ɡɹid/
- Rhymes: -iːd
Audio (UK) (file)
Noun
greed (countable and uncountable, plural greeds)
- A selfish or excessive desire for more than is needed or deserved, especially of money, wealth, food, or other possessions.
- His greed was his undoing.
- 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 564:
- […] But when I had bestridden the plank, quoth I to myself, "Thou deserveth all that betideth thee. All this is decreed to me of Allah (whose name be exalted!), to turn me from my greed of gain, whence ariseth all that I endure, for I have wealth galore."
Synonyms
- (selfish desire for more than is needed): avarice, covetousness, greediness, rapacity
- See also Thesaurus:greed
- (desire for food): gluttony
Derived terms
Translations
selfish desire for more than is needed
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Further reading
- greed in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- greed in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
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