Where does “covetous” come from?
Covetous comes from Middle English coveitous, from Anglo-Norman cuveitus, from Latin cupiditosus, meaning eager to desire, ultimately from Latin cupio, to desire.
covetous (English): Extremely keen or desirous, especially to obtain...
Definitions
- Extremely keen or desirous, especially to obtain...
Ancestry of “covetous”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | coveitous | — |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | cuveitus | — |
| 3 | Latin | cupiditās | desire deemed good, neutral or bad |
| 4 | Latin | -tās | ty, -dom, -hood, -ness, -ship |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -teh₂ts | Used to form nouns representing state of being |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -teh₂ | Used to form nouns representing state of being |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tós | Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems |