envious
adjectiveattested in dialogue
- //ˈɛnviːəs//
Feeling or exhibiting envy; jealously desiring the excellence or good fortune of another; maliciously grudging.
adjective
- 1
Feeling or exhibiting envy; jealously desiring the excellence or good fortune of another; maliciously grudging.
an envious man, disposition, or attack; envious tongues
Fret not thy ſelfe becauſe of euill doers, neither bee thou enuious againſt the workers of iniquitie.
My soul is envious of mine eye.
- 2
Excessively careful; cautious.
for no man was ever so amorous, as to love a toad; none so envious, as to repine at the condition of the miserable
- 3
obsoleteMalignant; mischievous; spiteful.
Each envious brier his weary legs doth scratch.
- 4
obsoleteInspiring envy.
He to him leapt, and that same envious gage / Of victors glory from him snatcht away.
Etymology
From Middle English envious, from Anglo-Norman envious, from Old French envieus, envious (modern French envieux), from Latin invidiōsus; more at envy. Doublet of invidious, borrowed directly from Latin. Displaced native Old English æfestiġ.
Forms
- comparative
- more envious
- superlative
- most envious
envious · Feeling or exhibiting envy; jealously desiring the excellence or good fortune of another; maliciously grudging.
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