Word of the Day

Tuesday October 20, 2009

avarice [AV-uh-ris]

noun

An excessive desire of gain; greediness after wealth; cupidity; covetousness.

For a couple of longtime married men, the Coens sure seem to take a dim view of matrimony. They came to "Cruelty" as rewrite men, transforming it into a sublime screwball comedy that, yes, skewers romance, but saves its most biting satire for the soul-deadening materialism endemic to Los Angeles. Money, for the Coens, has always been the root of all evil, and no place offers more fertile ground for avarice to grow than Beverly Hills.

Glenn Whipp, "Mystery in the making; The Coen Bros. advise against any thoughts of clear-eyed analysis when it comes to navigating the pitch-black worlds of their film canon", Los Angeles Times, Oct 4, 2009
The Network for Business Sustainability ( NBS.net)believes that the key reason why many businesses in Canada and around the world are slow to build sustainable enterprises comes down to a lack of knowledge, rather than avarice.

Tom Ewart, "Defining the problem; finding the solutions; Emotions cloud environmental issues", National Post, Sep 22, 2009
"This is a house," even then there are not enough. We see rich people, rich people out of motor cars, rich people beyond the dreams of avarice, going into toyshops and buying these skimpy, sickly, ridiculous pseudo-boxes of bricklets, because they do not know what to ask for, and the toyshops are just the merciless mercenary enemies of youth and happiness--so far, that is, as bricks are concerned. "

H. G. Wells (1866 - 1946) An English author, best known for the science fiction genre. Floor Games (1911)

Origin of the Word

Avarice, approximately 1300, derives from Middle French avarice , from Latin avaritia "greed," from avarus "greedy," adjective form of avere "crave, long for."