envy

English

Etymology

From Middle English envie, from Old French envie, from Latin invidia (“envy”), from invidere (“to look at with malice”) from in + videre ("on, upon" + "to look, see"). Displaced native Middle English ande, onde (“envy”) (from Old English anda, onda (“breath, emotion, envy, hatred, grudge, dislike”)), Middle English nithe, nith (“envy, malice”) (from Old English nīþ (“envy, hatred, malice, spite, jealousy”)).

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: ĕn'vē, IPA: /ˈɛnviː/, X-SAMPA: /"Envi:/

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Noun

envy (countable and uncountable; plural envies)

1. Resentful desire of something possessed by another or others (but not limited to material possessions). [from 13th c.]
   • 1983. ROSEN, Stanley. Plato’s Sophist. p. 66.

     Theodorus assures Socrates that no envy will prevent the Stranger from responding

2. (obsolete) Hatred, enmity, ill-feeling. [14th-18th c.]
   • 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book X:

     ‘Sir,’ seyde Sir Launcelot unto Kynge Arthur, ‘by this cry that ye have made ye woll put us that bene aboute you in grete jouparté, for there be many knyghtes that hath envy to us [...].’

   • 1598, William Shakespeare, Henry IV part 1:

     But let me tell the World, / If he out-liue the enuie of this day, / England did neuer owe so sweet a hope, / So much misconstrued in his Wantonnesse.

Translations

resentful desire of something possessed by another

• Arabic: حسد (ar) (ħasad) m
• Armenian: նախանձ (hy) (naxanj)
• Bulgarian: завист (bg) (zavist) f
• Catalan: enveja (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 妒嫉 (cmn) (dùjí), 羡慕 (cmn) (xiànmù)

• Czech: závist (cs) f
• Danish: misundelse (da)
• Dutch: afgunst (nl) f, nijd (nl) m
• Finnish: kateus (fi) m
• French: envie (fr) f
• German: Neid (de) m
• Greek: φθόνος (el) (fthónos) m
• Hausa: hassadā̀ (ha) f
• Hungarian: irigység (hu)
• Irish: formad (ga) m

  Old Irish: format n

• Italian: invidia (it) f
• Japanese: 嫉妬 (ja) (しっと, shitto), ねたみ (ja) (netami)

• Latin: invidia (la) f
• Norwegian: misunnelse (no)
• Persian: حسادت (fa) (hesâdat), رشک (fa) (rašk), حسد (fa) (hasad)
• Polish: zazdrość (pl) f
• Portuguese: inveja (pt) f, ciumes (pt) m
• Romanian: invidie (ro) f
• Russian: зависть (ru) (závist’) f
• Scottish Gaelic: farmad (gd) m, eud (gd) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: завист (sh) f, љубомора (sh) f, јал (sh) m

  Roman: závist (sh) f, ljubòmora (sh) f, jal (sh) m

• Slovak: závist' (sk) f
• Slovene: zavist (sl) f
• Spanish: envidia (es) f
• Telugu: ఈర్ష్య (te) (īrṣya), ఈసు (te) (īsu), అసూయ (te) (asūya)
• Thai: ความริษยา (th) (ความริษยา), ความอิจฉา (th) (kwaam ìtchăa)
• Turkish: kıskançlık (tr)

Verb

envy (third-person singular simple present envies, present participle envying, simple past and past participle envied)

1. (transitive) To feel displeasure or hatred towards (someone) for their good fortune or possessions. [from 14th c.]
2. (obsolete, intransitive) To have envious feelings (at). [15th-18th c.]
   • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, II.3.3:

     I do not envy at their wealth, titles, offices; [...] let me live quiet and at ease.

   Who would envy at the prosperity of the wicked? — Jeremy Taylor.

3. (obsolete, transitive) To give (something) to (someone) grudgingly or reluctantly; to begrudge. [16th-18th c.]
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.v:

     But that sweet Cordiall, which can restore / A loue-sick hart, she did to him enuy [...].

4. (obsolete) To show malice or ill will; to rail.

   He has […] envied against the people. — Shakespeare.

Translations

to feel displeasure towards (someone) because of their good fortune, possessions

• Arabic: غبط (ar) (ghábaTa)
• Armenian: նախանձել (hy) (naxanjel)
• Bulgarian: завиждам (bg) (zaviždam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 羡慕 (cmn) (xiànmù)

• Czech: závidět (cs)
• Dutch: benijden (nl), afgunstig zijn (nl)
• Finnish: kadehtia (fi)
• French: envier (fr)
• German: beneiden (de)
• Hungarian: irigyel (hu)
• Irish:

  Old Irish: for·muinethar

• Italian: invidiare (it)

• Japanese: 羨む (ja) (うらやむ, urayamu)
• Kazakh: қызғану (kk) (qızğanû)
• Latin: invideō (la)
• Persian: حسادت ورزیدن (fa), رشک ورزیدن (fa) (rašk varzidan)
• Polish: zazdrościć (pl)
• Portuguese: invejar (pt)
• Romanian: invidia (ro)
• Russian: завидовать (ru) (zavídovat’)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: завидети (sh), завидјети (sh)

  Roman: zavideti (sh), zavidjeti (sh)

• Slovene: zavidati (sl)
• Spanish: envidiar (es)
• Thai: ริษยา (th) (rítyaa), อิจฉา (th) (ìtchăa)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Serbo-Croatian: ljubomorna (sh) f, ljubomoran (sh) m, ljubomorno (sh) n

Related terms

• envious