covet

English

Etymology

From Middle English coveten, coveiten, coveyten, from Old French covoitier (modern French convoiter), from covoitié (“desire”), presumably modified from Latin cupiditas.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈkʌvɪt/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Rhymes: -ʌvɪt

Verb

covet (third-person singular simple present covets, present participle coveting, simple past and past participle coveted)

(transitive) To wish for with eagerness; to desire possession of, often enviously.
- 2025 December 6, “Netflix's WBD deal swaps history for fantasy”, in FT Weekend, Lex, page 24:
  What Netflix really covets is closer to its current competencies: WBD's “intellectual property”, or in plain English, franchises such as Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Friends, pictured, and The Sopranos.
(transitive) To long for inordinately or unlawfully; to hanker after (something forbidden).
(intransitive) To yearn; to have or indulge an inordinate desire, especially for another's possession.
- 1991, Ted Tally, The Silence of the Lambs (motion picture), spoken by Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins):
  No! He covets. That is his nature. And how do we begin to covet, Clarice? Do we seek out things to covet? Make an effort to answer now.

Synonyms

hanker

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

to wish for with eagerness — see also desire

Arabic: طَمُعَ (ar) (ṭamuʕa), طَمِعَ (ar) (ṭamiʕa), جَشِعَ (jašiʕa)
Azerbaijani: tamah salmaq
Bulgarian: жадувам (bg) (žaduvam)
Burmese: မက် (my) (mak)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 貪求 / 贪求 (zh) (tānqiú), 貪圖 / 贪图 (zh) (tāntú), 渴望 (zh) (kěwàng), 垂涎 (zh) (chuíxián)
Danish: begære, attrå
Dutch: begeren (nl), hunkeren (nl), verlangen (nl), smachten (nl) (naar)
Esperanto: deziri, avidi
Finnish: himoita (fi)
French: convoiter (fr), désirer (fr)
Galician: cobizar (gl), desexar (gl), devecer (gl), degorar (gl), gorar (gl), bremar
German: begehren (de)
Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gairnjan)
Greek:
Ancient Greek: ἐπῐθῡμέω (epĭthūméō)
Hebrew: חמד (he) (chamad)
Italian: concupire (it), bramare (it)
Japanese: 切望する (ja) (せつぼうする, setsubō suru), 貪る (ja) (むさぼる, musaboru), 欲張る (ja) (よくばる, okubaru)
Latin: concupio
Malayalam: കൊതിക്കുക (ml) (kotikkuka)
Māori: taiapo, kōhaehae, kaiapo
Marathi: अभिलाषणे (abhilāṣṇe), लालचणे (lālacṇe), लालचावणे (lālcāvṇe), लालुचणे (lālucṇe)
Norwegian: attrå, ønske sterkt
Old English: wilnian
Polish: pożądać (pl)
Portuguese: desejar (pt), cobiçar (pt)
Romanian: râvni (ro), dori (ro), jindui (ro), ochi (ro)
Russian: жажда́ть (ru) impf (žaždátʹ), си́льно жела́ть impf (sílʹno želátʹ)
Sanskrit: गृध्यति (sa) (gṛdhyati)
Serbo-Croatian: žudjeti (sh), žuditi (sh), žudeti (sh)
Slovak: mať zálusk (na niečo)
Spanish: codiciar (es)
Swedish: begära (sv)
Tagalog: imbutin
Turkish: imrenmek (tr)

to long for inordinately or unlawfully

Chinese:
Cantonese: 覬覦 / 觊觎 (gei³ jyu⁴)
Dutch: begeren (nl), lonken (nl)
French: convoiter (fr), guigner (fr)
Māori: taiapo, kaiapo
Romanian: râvni (ro), tânji (ro)
Russian: жажда́ть (ru) impf (žaždátʹ), си́льно жела́ть impf (sílʹno želátʹ)
Serbo-Croatian: hlepiti (sh)

to have or indulge inordinate desire

Bulgarian: пожелавам (bg) (poželavam)
Dutch: lusten (nl), smachten (nl)
Finnish: himoita (fi)
German: sehnen (de)
Gothic: 𐌱𐌹𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍉𐌽 (bifaihōn)
Māori: monoa, monowa, kōhaehae
Russian: жажда́ть (ru) impf (žaždátʹ), домога́ться (ru) impf (domogátʹsja), си́льно жела́ть impf (sílʹno želátʹ)
Serbo-Croatian: žuditi (sh), žudjeti (sh), žudeti (sh)
Swedish: sukta (sv)
Turkish: gözü kalmak (tr) (for another's possession)

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

German: ^{(please verify)} begehren (de), ^{(please verify)} ersehnen (de)
Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} girnast (is), ^{(please verify)} ágirnast (is)
Latin: ^{(please verify)} appeto (la), ^{(please verify)} concupisco