covet

English

Etymology

From Middle English coveten, coveiten, coveyten, from Old French covoitier (modern French convoiter), from covoitié (“desire”), presumably modified from Latin cupiditas.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʌvɪt/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌvɪt

Verb

covet (third-person singular simple present covets, present participle coveting, simple past and past participle coveted)

1. (transitive) To wish for with eagerness; to desire possession of, often enviously.
   • 1991, Ted Tally, The Silence of the Lambs (motion picture), spoken by Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins):

     No! He covets. That is his nature. And how do we begin to covet, Clarice? Do we seek out things to covet? Make an effort to answer now.

2. (transitive) To long for inordinately or unlawfully; to hanker after (something forbidden).
3. (intransitive) To yearn; to have or indulge an inordinate desire, especially for another's possession.

Derived terms

• coveting
• covetingly

Related terms

• covetable
• coveter
• covetous

Translations

Further reading

• “covet”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “covet”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.