Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
adjective, greed·i·er, greed·i·est.
- excessively or inordinately desirous of wealth, profit, etc.; avaricious: the greedy owners of the company.
- having a strong or great desire for food or drink.
- keenly desirous; eager (often followed by of or for): greedy for praise.
adjective greedier or greediest
- excessively desirous of food or wealth, esp in large amounts; voracious
- (postpositive foll by for) eager (for)a man greedy for success
Old English grædig (West Saxon), gredig (Anglian) “voracious,” also “covetous,” from Proto-Germanic *grædagaz (cf. Old Saxon gradag “greedy,” Old Norse graðr “greed, hunger,” Danish graadig, Dutch gretig, Old High German gratag “greedy”), from *græduz (cf. Gothic gredus “hunger,” Old English grædum “eagerly”), possibly from PIE root *gher- “to like, want” (cf. Sanskrit grdh “to be greedy”).
In Greek, the word was philargyros, literally “money-loving.” A German word for it is habsüchtig, from haben “to have” + sucht “sickness, disease,” with sense tending toward “passion for.”