▪ I. greed, n. Orig. Sc.
(griːd)
Also 7 gread, griede.
[Back formation from greedy. (OE. had dat. pl. grǽdum used advb. = ‘with greediness’.)]
Inordinate or insatiate longing, esp. for wealth; avaricious or covetous desire. Const. of.
| 1609 S. Grahame Anat. Humours 38 b, Whose avarice and gread of geare is such, that they care not whom with they joyne, so being they be ritch. 1618 Lithgow Pilgr. Farew. (sig.) E, Is hee poore, then faine hee would bee rich; And rich, what tormentes his great griede doth feele. 1786 Burns Twa Dogs 144 Some rascal's pridefu' greed to quench. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xvii, The Duke of Albany is generally hated for his greed and covetousness. 1863 Fawcett Pol. Econ. ii. ii. 130 Many..attach to competition the stigma of selfish greed. 1870 Morris Earthly Par. I. ii. 515 If greed of power and gold have led thee on. 1874 Green Short Hist. i. §2. 10 The greed of plunder drew fresh war⁓bands from the German coast. |
▪ II. greed, v. rare.
(griːd)
[f. greed n.]
a. intr. To indulge one's greed; to be avaricious; to have an eager longing for. b. trans. To long for.
| c 1685–8 Huntingd. Ploughman's Compl. in Roxb. Ballads (1890) VII. 32 On wealth her mother's mind was bent, she greeded out of measure. 1843 Blackw. Mag. LIII. 176 You might the horrent jaws survey, Griesly, and greeding for their prey. 1848 Lytton Harold xi. xi, The ravens sit greeding, And watching, and heeding..And ravens sit greeding Their share of the bones. |