avarice

English

WOTD – 14 April 2006

Etymology

From Middle English avarice, from Old French, from Latin avāritia, from avārus (“greedy”).

Pronunciation

• (non-merged vowel) IPA^(key): /ˈævəɹɪs/
• (merged vowel) IPA^(key): /ˈævəɹəs/, /ˈævɹəs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ævəɹəs

Noun

avarice (usually uncountable, plural avarices)

1. Excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greed for wealth

   Synonyms: covetousness, cupidity

2. Inordinate desire for some supposed good.

Synonyms

• avariciousness
• See also Thesaurus:greed

Related terms

• avaricious, avariciously

Translations

excessive or inordinate desire of gain

• Arabic: طَمَع (ar) (ṭamaʕ)، شُحُّ m (šuḥḥu)
• Bulgarian: користолю́бие (bg) n (koristoljúbie)
• Catalan: avarícia (ca) f, cobdícia f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 貪婪／贪婪 (zh) (tānlán), 貪心／贪心 (zh) (tānxīn), 貪財／贪财 (zh) (tāncái) (lust for wealth)

• Czech: chamtivost (cs) f, lakomství n, hrabivost (cs) f
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: hebberigheid (nl) f, hebzucht (nl) m or f, inhaligheid (nl)
• Esperanto: avaro (eo)
• Estonian: ahnus (et), saamahimu
• Farefare: be'ero, pʋyã'anɛ
• Faroese: gírni n
• Finnish: ahneus (fi), rahanhimo (fi)
• French: avarice (fr)
• Georgian: სიხარბე (sixarbe), გაუმაძღრობა (gaumaʒɣroba), სიძუნწე (siʒunc̣e), ხელმოჭერილობა (xelmoč̣eriloba)
• German: Gier (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌱𐌹𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍉𐌽𐍃 f (bifaihōns)
• Greek: πλεονεξία (el) f (pleonexía)

  Ancient: πλεονεξία f (pleonexía)

• Ido: avareso (io)
• Irish: saint (ga) f, cíocras m, gabhálacht f
• Italian: avarizia (it), cupidigia (it) f
• Japanese: 強欲 (ja) (ごうよく, gōyoku)
• Khmer: ^{(please verify)} សេចក្ដីកំណាញ់ (səckdəy kɑmnañ)
• Korean: 탐욕(貪慾) (tamyok)
• Latin: avāritia f, avāritiēs f
• Malayalam: അത്യാർത്തി (ml) (atyāṟtti)
• Old English: ġitsung (ang) f
• Persian: زیاده‌خواهی (ziâde-xâhi), طمع (fa) (tama'), الچخت (fa) (alčaxt)
• Plautdietsch: Jiez m
• Polish: chciwość (pl) f
• Portuguese: avarícia (pt), avareza (pt)
• Romanian: avariție (ro) f
• Russian: а́лчность (ru) f (álčnostʹ), жа́дность (ru) f (žádnostʹ), ску́пость (ru) f (skúpostʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: sannt m
• Slovak: lakomstvo n
• Spanish: avaricia (es) f, codicia (es) f
• Swedish: girighet (sv)
• Tocharian B: maune
• Turkish: açgözlülük (tr)
• Yiddish: please add this translation if you can

inordinate desire for some supposed good

• Bulgarian: лакоми́я (bg) f (lakomíja), ненаси́тност (bg) f (nenasítnost)
• Catalan: avarícia (ca) f, cobdícia f, avidesa f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 貪財／贪财 (zh) (tāncái), 贪求 (zh) (tānqiú)

• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: ahneus (fi), himo (fi)
• Italian: avidità (it) f
• Polish: chciwość (pl) f
• Portuguese: avareza (pt) f
• Romanian: aviditate (ro) f
• Russian: ненасы́тность (ru) f (nenasýtnostʹ), прожо́рливость (ru) f (prožórlivostʹ)
• Turkish: para hırsı, servet tutkusu

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} girighet (sv), ^{(please verify)} snålhet (sv)

Anagrams

• caviare

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French avarice, borrowed from Latin avaritia. Cognate with Italian avarizia, Portuguese avareza, Spanish avaricia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.va.ʁis/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -is

Noun

avarice f (plural avarices)

1. greed; avarice

Related terms

• avare
• avarement
• avaricieux

Further reading

• “avarice”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin avaritia.

Noun

avarice oblique singular, f (oblique plural avarices, nominative singular avarice, nominative plural avarices)

1. greed; avarice

Descendants

• → English: avarice
• French: avarice