covetousness

English

Etymology

From Middle English covatusnes, covetousnes, coveytousnesse; equivalent to covetous +‎ -ness.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʌvətəsnəs/

Noun

covetousness (usually uncountable, plural covetousnesses)

1. Immoderate desire for the possession of something, especially for wealth.
   • 1588, Jean La Placette, Of the Incurable Scepticism of the Church of Rome:

     He which will yield to Fear. muſt neceſſarily yield to Covetouſneſs or any inordinate Deſire.

   • 1661, J. Johnson, The morning-exercise at Cripple-gate:

     Covetouſneſs is the yelow Jaundice of the foul, which ariſes from the over-flowing of the heart with love to yellow gold, by which a Chriſtian is dull'd and deadned.

   • 1815, Samuel Lavington, Sermons and other discourses, Volume 1:

     Covetousness prevents all good, and is and inlet and encouragement to evil.

   • 1976, Jacques Ellul, The Ethics of Freedom, page 134:

     In obvious compensation and opposition the fear of nothingness becomes the source of covetousness...

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:greed

Translations

desire for the possession of something

• Dutch: begerigheid (nl) f
• Estonian: ihalus
• Farefare: sũkiire
• Finnish: ahneus (fi), kateus (fi)
• French: convoitise (fr) f
• Galician: cobiza
• Georgian: ხარბობა (xarboba)
• German: Habsucht (de), Gier (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌱𐌹𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍉𐌽𐍃 f (bifaihōns)
• Irish: antlás m
• Malayalam: ലുബ്ധത (ml) (lubdhata), അത്യാഗ്രഹം (ml) (atyāgrahaṁ)
• Persian: حرص (fa) (hers)
• Plautdietsch: Janka m
• Romanian: poftă nemăsurată f, râvnire excesivă f
• Spanish: codicia (es) f
• Swedish: begärelse c