greet

Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ɡɹiːt/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -iːt

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English greten, from Old English grētan, from Proto-Germanic *grōtijaną.

Verb[edit]

greet (third-person singular simple present greets, present participle greeting, simple past and past participle greeted)

  1. (transitive) To welcome in a friendly manner, either in person or through another means such as writing.
    • c. 1593, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene i]:
      My lord, the mayor of London comes to greet you.
    • 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter I,
      Warwick observed, as they passed through the respectable quarter, that few people who met the girl greeted her, and that some others whom she passed at gates or doorways gave her no sign of recognition; from which he inferred that she was possibly a visitor in the town and not well acquainted.
  2. (transitive) To arrive at or reach, or meet.
    • 1707, Joseph Addison, Rosamond, Act I, scene 4
      In vain the spring my senses greets.
    • 2009, Loren Long, ‎Phil Bildner, Magic in the Outfield (page 47)
      Way deep in left field, where the carpet of green sloped upward to a terrace and greeted the thick line of trees, he reached out his glove.
  3. (transitive) To accost; to address.
  4. (intransitive, archaic) To meet and give salutations.
  5. (transitive) To be perceived by (somebody).
    • 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:
      From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.
    A brilliant dawn greeted her eyes as she looked out of the window.
Conjugation[edit]
Conjugation of greet
infinitive (to) greet
present tense past tense
1st-person singular greet greeted
2nd-person singular greet, greetest* greeted, greetedst*
3rd-person singular greets, greeteth* greeted
plural greet
subjunctive greet
imperative greet —
participles greeting greeted
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English greet, grete (“great”).

Adjective[edit]

greet (comparative more greet, superlative most greet)

  1. (obsolete outside Scotland) Great.

Etymology 3[edit]

From a blend of two Old English verbs, grētan, grǣtan (itself from Proto-Germanic *grētaną); and of Old English grēotan (itself from Proto-Germanic *greutaną), both meaning "to weep, lament".

Verb[edit]

greet (third-person singular simple present greets, present participle greeting, simple past and past participle greeted or grat or grutten)

  2. (Scotland, Northern England) To weep; to cry.
    • 1933, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Cloud Howe, Polygon 2006 (A Scots Quair), page 312:
      And damn't! if he didn't take down her bit things and scone her so sore she grat like a bairn [...].
    • 2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy, Penguin 2009, page 2:
      My maw went potty and started greeting.
Related terms[edit]

Noun[edit]

greet (uncountable)

  1. (obsolete) Mourning, weeping, lamentation.

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old English grēat, in turn from Proto-Germanic *grautaz.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

greet (plural and weak singular greete, comparative greter, superlative gretest)

  1. great (large, significant)
    • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎[1], published c. 1410, James 3:5, page 110vre, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:
      ſo alſo þe tunge is but a litle membꝛe ⁊ reiſiþ grete þingis / lo hou litil fier bꝛenneþ a grete wode.
      Similarly, the tongue's only a little organ, but it produces great things; look at how a small fire burns down a large forest.

Descendants[edit]

  • English: great, (dialectal) gert
  • Scots: great, greet, grete, greit

Scots[edit]

FWOTD – 2 November 2015

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From a blend of two Old English verbs, grētan (cognate with Swedish gråta', Danish græde) and grēotan (of uncertain ultimate origin), both ‘weep, lament’.

Verb[edit]

greet (third-person singular simple present greets, present participle greetin, simple past grat or grettit, past participle grutten)

  1. to weep, lament
    • 2008, Gordon Jarvie, Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales from Burns to Buchan, Penguin UK, →ISBN:
      Then Sandy jumpit oot the boat, an he ran an ran greetin an sobbin an sobbin an greetin. An when he ran up tae the fairm, this ceilidh's still gaun on, see? an the pot o sowens is still on the fire! An he cam in howlin an greetin an sobbin, an the laird says tae him, ‘Whit's adae wi ye, Sandy?
      (please add an English translation of this quote)
    • 2013, Donal McLaughlin, transl., Naw Much of a Talker, Freight Books, translation of Der Goalie bin ig by Pedro Lenz, page 5:
      Thinking o Regula hid me greetin aw ae a sudden.
      (please add an English translation of this quote)

Noun[edit]

greet (uncountable)

  1. cry, lamentation

Etymology 2[edit]

Adjective[edit]

greet (comparative greeter, superlative greetest)

  1. Alternative form of great
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