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Origin and history of avaricious

avaricious(adj.)

late 14c., "miserly, stingy;" early 15c., "greedy, covetous," from Old French avaricios "greedy, covetous" (Modern French avaricieux), from avarice "greed" (see avarice). An Old English word for it was feoh-georn. Related: Avariciously; avariciousness.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to avaricious

avarice(n.)

c. 1300, "inordinate desire of gaining and possessing wealth," fifth of the seven deadly sins, from Old French avarice "greed, covetousness" (12c.), from Latin avaritia "greed, inordinate desire," from avarus "greedy, grasping," adjectival form of avere "crave, long for, be eager," from Proto-Italic *awe- "to be eager," from PIE *heu-eh- "to enjoy, consume" (source also of Sanskrit avasa- "refreshment, food," avisya- "gluttony;" Welsh ewyllys "will;" Armenian aviwn "lust").

In Middle English it also was used of immoderate desire for knowledge, glory, power, etc., but it "has become limited, except in figurative uses, so as to express only a sordid and mastering desire to get wealth" [Century Dictionary].

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    Trends of avaricious

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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    covetous
    mid-13c., "inordinately desirous to obtain and possess, avaricious," from Old French coveitos "desirous, covetous" (12c., Modern French convoiteux), from Vulgar Latin *cupiditosus, from Latin cupiditas "passionate desire, eagerness, ambition," from cupidus "very desirous," from c
    prehensile
    "seizing or grasping, adapted for taking and holding," 1771, from French préhensile "adapted for grasping" (Buffon), from Latin prehensus, past participle of prehendere "to grasp, seize, get hold of," from prae- "before" (see pre-) + -hendere, from PIE root *ghend- "to seize, tak
    jealous
    originally in the context of sexuality or romance (in any context from late 14c.), from Old French jalos/gelos "keen, zealous; avaricious...
    money
    Money-grub for "avaricious person, one who is sordidly intent on amassing money" is from 1768; money-grubber is by 1835....
    cynic
    1550s, "one of the ancient sect of philosophy founded by Antisthenes," from Latinized form of Greek kynikos "a follower of Antisthenes," literally "dog-like," from kyōn (genitive kynos) "dog" (from PIE root *kwon- "dog"). Supposedly the name is a reference to the coarseness of li
    confusion
    c. 1300, confusioun, "overthrow, ruin," from Old French confusion "disorder, confusion, shame" (11c.) and directly from Latin confusionem (nominative confusio) "a mingling, mixing, blending; confusion, disorder," noun of action from past-participle stem of confundere "to pour tog
    king
    a late Old English contraction of cyning "king, ruler" (also used as a title), from Proto-Germanic *kuningaz (source also of Dutch koning, Old Norse konungr, Danish konge, Old Saxon and Old High German kuning, Middle High German künic, German König). This is of uncertain origin.
    revolution
    late 14c., revolucioun, originally of celestial bodies, "one (apparent) rotation about the earth," also the time required for this, also "act or fact of moving in a circular course," from Old French revolucion "course, revolution" of celestial bodies (13c.) or directly from Late
    squander
    1580s (squandering, Nashe), "to spend recklessly or prodigiously, use without judgment or economy," of unknown origin; Shakespeare used it in "Merchant of Venice" (1593) with a sense of "to be scattered over a wide area." Related: Squandered; squanderer. Squander-bug, a British s
    museum
    1610s, "the university building in Alexandria," from Latin museum "library, study," from Greek mouseion "place of study, library or museum, school of art or poetry," originally "a temple or shrine of the Muses," from Mousa "Muse" (see muse (n.)). The earliest use in reference to

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