rapacious

English

WOTD – 14 August 2008

Etymology

Perhaps from rapacity +‎ -ous, in any case ultimately from Latin rapāx (“grasping, greedy”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ɹəˈpeɪ.ʃəs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃəs

Adjective

rapacious (comparative more rapacious, superlative most rapacious)

1. (also figurative) Voracious; avaricious.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:greedy

   • 1787, Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 6: Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States:

     To presume a want of motives for such contests [of power between states] as an argument against their existence, would be to forget that men are ambitious, vindictive, and rapacious.

   • 2021 March 16, Noam Cohen, “Wikipedia Is Finally Asking Big Tech to Pay Up”, in Wired‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Big Tech companies, on the other hand, have proven themselves to be rapacious capitalists—they take as much as they can and ask for permission later.

   • 2022, “Nevermore”, performed by Lamb of God:

     The rapacious maw of our despair

2. Given to taking by force or plundering; aggressively greedy.
   • 1910, Niccolò Machiavelli, “Chapter XIX”, in Ninian Hill Thomson, transl., The Prince:

     A Prince […] sooner becomes hated by being rapacious and by interfering with the property and with the women of his subjects, than in any other way.

3. (of an animal, usually a bird) Subsisting off live prey.
   • 1827, James Fenimore Cooper, “Chapter XIII”, in The Prairie:

     Even the rapacious birds appeared to comprehend the nature of the ceremony, for […] they once more began to make their airy circuits above the place […]

Usage notes

• The use of this term for animals other than birds is dated.

Related terms

• rapaciously
• rapaciousness
• rapacity

Translations

avaricious

• Bulgarian: алчен (bg) (alčen), ненаситен (bg) (nenasiten)
• Finnish: ahne (fi), saaliinhimoinen
• French: rapace (fr)
• German: unersättlich (de), habgierig (de)
• Greek: άπληστος (el) (áplistos)

  Ancient: ἅρπαξ (hárpax)

• Latin: rapax
• Maori: whakakakao
• Polish: pazerny (pl) m
• Portuguese: voraz (pt) m or f
• Russian: жадный (ru) (žadnyj), алчный (ru) (alčnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: gramziv (sh), pohlepan (sh), lakom (sh)
• Spanish: codicioso (es)
• Swedish: rovgirig (sv)

given to take by force

• Bulgarian: грабителски (bg) (grabitelski)
• Dutch: roofzuchtig (nl)
• German: raubgierig
• Greek: αρπακτικός (el) (arpaktikós)
• Latin: rapax
• Spanish: rapaz (es)

which subsists off live prey

• Bulgarian: граблив (bg) (grabliv)
• German: Raub- (de)
• Greek: αρπακτικός (el) (arpaktikós)
• Italian: rapace (it)
• Russian: хищный (ru) (xiščnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: grabežljiv (sh)
• Spanish: rapaz (es)