Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “greedy” come from?

Greedy comes from Middle English gredy, Old English grǣdiġ, and Proto-Germanic grēdagaz, which derives from the Proto-Indo-European root ǵʰer-.

greedy (English): Having greed; consumed by selfish desires; Prone...

Definitions

  1. Having greed; consumed by selfish desires; Prone...

Ancestry of “greedy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-lyUsed to form adjectives from nouns, the...
2EnglishgrislyHorrifyingly repellent; gruesome, terrifying;...
3Middle Englishgrisely—
4Old Englishgrisliċgrisly, horrible; dreadful, horrid
5Old English-līċsuffix forming {{glossary|adjective}}s meaning...
6Proto-Germanic*-līk—

Words derived from “greedy”

  • nongreedy
  • ungreedy
  • greedyguts
  • ungreedily
  • ungreediness
  • gridi
Every word from Proto-Germanic *-līk →