Cov"et*ous (k?v"?t-?s), a. [OF. coveitos, F. convoiteux. See Covet, v. t.]
1.
Very desirous; eager to obtain; -- used in a good sense.
[Archaic]
Covetous of wisdom and fair virtue.
Shak.
Covetous death bereaved us all,
To aggrandize one funeral.
Emerson.
2.
Inordinately desirous; excessively eager to obtain and possess (esp. money); avaricious; -- in a bad sense.
The covetous person lives as if the world were madealtogether for him, and not he for the world.
South.
Syn. -- Avaricious; parsimonious; penurious; misrely; niggardly. See Avaricious.
© Webster 1913.