envy

English

Etymology

From Middle English envie, from Old French envie, from Latin invidia (“envy”), from invidere (“to look at with malice”), from in- (“on, upon”) + videre (“to look, see”). Doublet of envie. Cognate to Proto-Slavic *zavistь (“envy”).

Displaced native Old English æfest.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛnvi/

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• Rhymes: -ɛnvi

Noun

envy (countable and uncountable, plural envies)

1. Resentful desire of something possessed by another or others (but not limited to material possessions).
   • 1667, John Milton, “(please specify the book number)”, in Paradise Lost. , London: [Samuel Simmons], , →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: , London: Basil Montagu Pickering , 1873, →OCLC, lines 263–264:

     No bliss enjoyed by us excites his envy more.

   • 1804, Alexander Pope, The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, page 71:

     Envy, to which the ignoble mind's a slave,
     Is emulation in the learned or brave.

   • 1914, Louis Joseph Vance, Nobody, page 9:

     distilling therefrom an acid envy that robbed her napoleon of all its savour.

   • 1983, Stanley Rosen, Plato's Sophist: The Drama of Original and Image, page 66:

     Theodorus assures Socrates that no envy will prevent the Stranger from responding

2. An object of envious notice or feeling.
   • 1843, Thomas Macaulay, Critical and Miscellaneous Essays, Carey & Hart, page 277:

     This constitution in former days used to be the envy of the world[.]

   • 2008, Lich King (band), “Black Metal Sucks”, in Toxic Zombie Onslaught:

     Blacke Foryst of Despayr, taking photos of the band
     Put 'em up on Myspace you're the envy of the land

3. (obsolete) Hatred, enmity, ill-feeling.
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “lij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book X:

     Syre said laūcelot vnto Arthur by this crye that ye haue made ye wyll put vs that ben aboute yow in grete Ieopardy
     for there be many Knyghtes that haue grete enuye to vs
     therfore whan we shal mete at the daye of Iustes there wille be hard skyfte amonge vs

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 1598, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 1:

     But let me tell the World,
     If he out-liue the enuie of this day,
     England did neuer owe so sweet a hope,
     So much misconstrued in his Wantonnesse.

4. (obsolete) Emulation; rivalry.
   • c. 1631-1636, John Ford, The Fancies Chaste and Noble

     Such as cleanliness and decency
     Prompt to a virtuous envy.

5. (obsolete) Public odium; ill repute.
   • 1611, Ben[jamin] Jonson, Catiline His Conspiracy, London: [William Stansby?] for Walter Burre, →OCLC, (please specify |act=I to V):

     to lay the envy of the war upon Cicero

6. A red-skinned variety of eating apple.

Antonyms

• kindness

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

envy (third-person singular simple present envies, present participle envying, simple past and past participle envied)

1. (transitive) To feel displeasure or hatred towards (someone) for their good fortune or possessions.
   • 2018 September 20, Hyonhee Shin, Joyce Lee, Soyoung Kim, Haejin Choi, Pyongyang Press Corps., “Fulfilling a dream, South Korea's Moon visits sacred North Korean mountain with Kim”, in Lincoln Feast, editor, Reuters‎, archived from the original on 13 November 2018, World News‎:

     Moon and Kim took a cable car together to Heaven Lake, a caldera at the top of the mountain, and walked around the area with their wives and officials from both sides.
     Pictures showed Moon and Kim smiling and posing with their wives, and Moon filling a bottle with water from the lake.
     “The Chinese envy us because they can’t go down to the lake from their side but we can,” Kim said.
     “We should write another chapter of history between the North and the South by reflecting our new history on this Heaven Lake.”

2. (transitive) To resentfully or discontentedly desire (something someone else has that one lacks).
3. (obsolete, intransitive) To have envious feelings (at).
   • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: , 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 3, member 3:

     I do not envy at their wealth, titles, offices; […] let me live quiet and at ease.

   • 1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. , 2nd edition, London: Francis Ashe , →OCLC:

     Who envy at the prosperity of the wicked?

4. (obsolete, transitive) To give (something) to (someone) grudgingly or reluctantly; to begrudge.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. , London: [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     But that sweet Cordiall, which can restore
     A loue-sick hart, she did to him enuy […].

5. (obsolete) To show malice or ill will; to rail.
   • c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     He has […] envied against the people.

6. (obsolete) To do harm to; to injure; to disparage.
   • c. 1621, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, “The Pilgrim”, in Comedies and Tragedies , London: Humphrey Robinson, , and for Humphrey Moseley , published 1647, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     If I make a lie
     To gain your love and envy my best mistress,
     Put me against a wall.

7. (obsolete) To hate.
   • c. 1589–1590 (date written), Christopher Marlo[we], edited by Tho[mas] Heywood, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. , London: I B for Nicholas Vavasour, , published 1633, →OCLC, (please specify the page):

     Both jealous of my love, envied each other

8. (obsolete) To emulate.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. , London: [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     Let later age that noble vse enuie,
     Vile rancour to auoid, and cruell surquedrie

Translations

Anagrams

• veny

Middle English

Noun

envy

1. Alternative form of envie