Gredynesse

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An intense and eager craving for food, wealth, or gain, showing a strong and grasping appetite for more
2. The quality of being excessively desirous of possessions, food, or advantage beyond what is needed
3. Avid and grasping longing, a readiness to take more than one's share of whatever is wanted

Etymology: "Gredynesse" is a Middle English spelling of what became "greediness." It is built from "greedy" plus the suffix "-ness," an Old English ending ("-nes") that turned adjectives into nouns for a state or quality. The same pattern gave "goodness" from "good" and "happiness" from "happy," so the word simply means "the state of being greedy." The base word, "greedy," comes from Old English "grǣdig," meaning hungry or eager, and it belongs to the verb "grǣdan," to crave or hunger for. Its earliest sense was closer to physical hunger or keen appetite, and the moral sense of wanting more than one's share developed alongside it.