avarice

English

WOTD – 14 April 2006

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew-

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew-eh₁yeti

Latin aveō

Latin avārus

Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós

Proto-Italic *-ijos

Proto-Italic *-ios

Old Latin -ios

Latin -ius

Latin -ia

Latin -itia

Latin avāritiabor.

Old French avaricebor.

Middle English avarice

English avarice

From Middle English avarice, from Old French, from Latin avāritia, from avārus (“greedy”).

Pronunciation

• (non-merged vowel) IPA^(key): /ˈævəɹɪs/
• (merged vowel) IPA^(key): /ˈævəɹəs/, /ˈævɹəs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ævəɹəs

Noun

avarice (usually uncountable, plural avarices)

1. Excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greed for wealth

   Synonyms: covetousness, cupidity

   • 1788, Publius [pseudonym; Alexander Hamilton], “Number XII”, in The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, […] , volume I, New York, N.Y.: […] J. and A. M‘Lean, […], →OCLC:

     By multiplying the means of gratification, by promoting the introduction and circulation of the precious metals, those darling objects of human avarice and enterprise, it serves to vivify and invigorate the channels of industry, and to make them flow with greater activity and copiousness.

2. Inordinate desire for some supposed good.

Synonyms

• avariciousness
• See also Thesaurus:greed

Related terms

• avaricious, avariciously

Translations

excessive or inordinate desire of gain

• Arabic: طَمَع (ar) (ṭamaʕ)، شُحُّ m (šuḥḥu)
• Bulgarian: користолю́бие (bg) n (koristoljúbie)
• Catalan: avarícia (ca) f, cobdícia (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 貪婪 / 贪婪 (zh) (tānlán), 貪心 / 贪心 (zh) (tānxīn), 貪財 / 贪财 (zh) (tāncái) (lust for wealth)

• Czech: chamtivost (cs) f, lakomství n, hrabivost (cs) f
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: hebberigheid (nl) f, hebzucht (nl) m or f, inhaligheid (nl)
• Esperanto: avaro (eo)
• Estonian: ahnus (et), saamahimu
• Farefare: be'ero, pʋyã'anɛ
• Faroese: gírni n
• Finnish: ahneus (fi), rahanhimo (fi)
• French: avarice (fr)
• Georgian: სიხარბე (sixarbe), გაუმაძღრობა (gaumaʒɣroba), სიძუნწე (siʒunc̣e), ხელმოჭერილობა (xelmoč̣eriloba)
• German: Gier (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌱𐌹𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍉𐌽𐍃 f (bifaihōns)
• Greek: πλεονεξία (el) f (pleonexía)

  Ancient Greek: πλεονεξία f (pleonexía)

• Hindi: लालच (hi) m (lālac), लोभ (hi) m (lobh)
• Ido: avareso (io)
• Irish: saint (ga) f, cíocras m, gabhálacht f
• Italian: avarizia (it), cupidigia (it) f
• Japanese: 強欲 (ja) (ごうよく, gōyoku)
• Khmer: ^{(please verify)} សេចក្ដីកំណាញ់ (səckdəy kɑmnañ)
• Korean: 탐욕(貪慾) (tamyok)
• Latin: avāritia f, avāritiēs f
• Malayalam: അത്യാർത്തി (ml) (atyāṟtti)
• Old English: ġitsung (ang) f
• Persian: زیاده‌خواهی (ziâde-xâhi), طمع (fa) (tama'), الچخت (fa) (alčaxt)
• Plautdietsch: Jiez m
• Polish: chciwość (pl) f
• Portuguese: avarícia (pt), avareza (pt)
• Romanian: avariție (ro) f
• Russian: а́лчность (ru) f (álčnostʹ), жа́дность (ru) f (žádnostʹ), ску́пость (ru) f (skúpostʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: sannt m
• Slovak: lakomstvo n
• Spanish: avaricia (es) f, codicia (es) f
• Swedish: girighet (sv)
• Telugu: అత్యాశ (te) (atyāśa)
• Tocharian B: maune
• Turkish: açgözlülük (tr)
• Yiddish: please add this translation if you can

inordinate desire for some supposed good

• Bulgarian: лакоми́я (bg) f (lakomíja), ненаси́тност (bg) f (nenasítnost)
• Catalan: avarícia (ca) f, cobdícia (ca) f, avidesa f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 貪財 / 贪财 (zh) (tāncái), 贪求 (zh) (tānqiú)

• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: ahneus (fi), himo (fi)
• Italian: avidità (it) f
• Polish: chciwość (pl) f
• Portuguese: avareza (pt) f
• Romanian: aviditate (ro) f
• Russian: ненасы́тность (ru) f (nenasýtnostʹ), прожо́рливость (ru) f (prožórlivostʹ)
• Turkish: para hırsı, servet tutkusu

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} girighet (sv), ^{(please verify)} snålhet (sv)

Anagrams

• caviare

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French avarice, borrowed from Latin avaritia. Cognate with Italian avarizia, Portuguese avareza, Spanish avaricia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.va.ʁis/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Saint-Étienne)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -is

Noun

avarice f (plural avarices)

1. greed; avarice

Related terms

• avare
• avarement
• avaricieux

Further reading

• “avarice”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin avaritia.

Noun

avarice oblique singular, f (oblique plural avarices, nominative singular avarice, nominative plural avarices)

1. greed; avarice

Descendants

• → English: avarice
• French: avarice