Cupidity

Cupidity
Cupidity Cu*pid"i*ty (k?-p?d"?-t?), n. [F. cupidite, L. cupiditas, fr. cupidus longing, desiring, fr. cupere to long for, desire. See {Covet}.] 1. A passionate desire; love. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

2. Eager or inordinate desire, especially for wealth; greed of gain; avarice; covetousness. [1913 Webster]

With the feelings of political distrust were mingled those of cupidity and envy, as the Spaniard saw the fairest provinces of the south still in the hands of the accursed race of Ishmael. --Prescott. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • cupidity — cupidity, greed, rapacity, avarice are comparable when meaning intense desire for wealth or possessions. Cupidity stresses the intensity and compelling nature of the desire and often suggests covetousness as well {the sight of so much wealth… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • cupidity — (n.) mid 15c., from Anglo Fr. cupidite, from M.Fr. cupidité, from L. cupiditatem (nom. cupiditas) passionate desire, lust; ambition, from cupidus eager, passionate, from cupere to desire (perhaps cognate with Skt. kupyati bubbles up, becomes… …   Etymology dictionary

  • cupidity — index desire, greed Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • cupidity — [n] greed, strong desire acquisitiveness, avarice, avariciousness, avidity, covetousness, craving, eagerness, graspingness, greediness, hunger, infatuation, itching*, longing, lust, passion, possessiveness, rapaciousness, rapacity, voracity,… …   New thesaurus

  • cupidity — ► NOUN ▪ greed for money or possessions. ORIGIN Latin cupiditas, from cupidus desirous …   English terms dictionary

  • cupidity — [kyo͞o pid′ə tē] n. [ME & Anglo Fr cupidite < L cupiditas < cupidus: see CUPID] strong desire, esp. for wealth; avarice; greed …   English World dictionary

  • cupidity — [[t]kjuːpɪ̱dɪti[/t]] N UNCOUNT Cupidity is a greedy desire for money and possessions. [FORMAL] His eyes gave him away, shining with cupidity. Syn: avarice …   English dictionary

  • cupidity — noun /kjuːˈpɪdəti/ Extreme greed, especially for wealth. The conquerors cupidity created economic problems in the kingdom. Syn: avarice, covetousness See Also: cupid …   Wiktionary

  • cupidity — cu|pid|i|ty [kjuˈpıdıti] n [U] formal [Date: 1400 1500; : French; Origin: cupidité, from Latin cupiditas, from cupere to desire ] very strong desire for something, especially money or property = ↑greed ▪ the cupidity of some businessmen …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • cupidity — [15] The Latin verb cupere meant ‘desire’ (related forms such as Sanskrit kup ‘become agitated’, Church Slavonic kypeti ‘boil’, and Latvian kūpēt ‘boil, steam’ suggest that its underlying notion is ‘agitation’). One of its derivatives was the… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”