cupidity

UK/kjuːˈpɪdəti/

nounC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,994 of 15,258Too rare in one of the two pools to compare — fewer than 20 uses in speech or in writing

Cupidity is greed for money and possessions. Driven by cupidity.

It is formal and slightly archaic, appearing in judgments and histories. Cupidity shares a root with Cupid, since both come from the Latin for desire.

Definitions of cupidity

1nouncupidityGreed for money and possessions.C2
“The whole scheme was built on cupidity and nothing else.”

cupidity is a quality.

Where it comes from

Latin cupiditas, from cupidus, desirous, from cupere, to desire; the god Cupid is from the same root.

Latin
cupiditās — strong desire
French
cupidité
English, today
cupidity

Built from

cupidus · Latin — keen, desirous

From French cupidité, from Latin cupiditās (“strong desire”), from cupidus (“keen, desirous”). Compare Cupid.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

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