English Explanatory Dictionary

greedy

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Having greed; consumed by selfish desires.
  2. Prone to overeat.
  3. Tending to match as much text as possible.
  4. That tries to find the global optimum by finding the local optimum at each stage.
  5. Greedily sought or pursued.

Pronunciation

/ˈɡɹiːdi/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-greedy.wav

Word forms

greedy greedier greediest

Etymology

From Middle English gredy, from Anglian Old English grēdiġ (“greedy, hungry, eager”) (cognate West Saxon form grǣdiġ), from Proto-Germanic *grēdagaz (“hungry”), from Proto-Germanic *grēdaz, *grēduz, *grēdô (“hunger”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer-. Equivalent to greed + -y. Cognate with Old Saxon grādag (“greedy”), Dutch graag (“gladly, willingly”), Old High German grātag (“greedy”), Danish grådig (“greedy”), Norwegian Bokmål grådig (“greedy”) (from Old Norse gráðigr (“greedy”), gráði (“greed, hunger”)), Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌴𐌳𐌰𐌲𐍃 (grēdags, “hungry”). Sanskrit गृद्धि (gṛddhi, “greed”) is a false cognate.

Synonyms

acquisitive avaricious cormorant covetous edacious esurient grasping greedy miserable piggish miserly rapacious selfish sordid sharp-set voracious gluttonous

Antonyms

lazy nongreedy reluctant

Derived words

be fearful when others are greedy be greedy when others are fearful greed greedily greediness greedy algorithm greedyguts greedy property overgreedy ungreedy
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