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Which word has an etymological connection to the word covet?

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covet

American  

[kuhv-it] / ˈkʌv ɪt /

verb (used with object)

• covets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• coveted,
  past participle,  past
• coveting
  present participle

1. to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others.

   to covet another's property.

   Antonyms:

   renounce

2. to wish for, especially eagerly.

   He won the prize they all coveted.

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verb (used without object)

• covets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• coveted,
  past participle,  past
• coveting
  present participle

1. to have an inordinate or wrongful desire.

covet British  

/ ˈkʌvɪt /

verb

1. to wish, long, or crave for (something, esp the property of another person)

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Synonym Usage

See envy.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• coveter
  noun
• covetable
  adjective
• uncoveting
  adjective
• covetingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• coveting
  present
• coveted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• covet
  simple
• covets
  simple
• have coveted
  perfect
• has coveted
  perfect
• am coveting
  progressive
• are coveting
  progressive
• is coveting
  progressive
• have been coveting
  perfect progressive
• has been coveting
  perfect progressive

Past

• coveted
  simple
• had coveted
  perfect
• was coveting
  progressive
• were coveting
  progressive
• had been coveting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will covet
  simple
• will have coveted
  perfect
• will be coveting
  progressive
• will have been coveting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of covet

First recorded in 1325–1350; Middle English coveiten, from Anglo-French coveiter, Old French coveit(i)er, from unattested Vulgar Latin cupiditāre, verbal derivative of Latin cupiditās cupidity

Explanation

If you covet something, you eagerly desire something that someone else has. If it's 95 degrees out and humid, you may find yourself coveting your neighbor's air conditioner. If the word covet sounds familiar, you're thinking of the Tenth Commandment: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's." Basically this means you should be happy with your electronic gadgets and not be jealous when a friend gets something better.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

covet covets coveted coveting

For our presence to take hold, we must lay bare the emotions we covet so stubbornly, the emotions found in the look of those we love, of those we call family.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Tourists pack inside these temples of fashion to gaze at rows of sleek sneakers or show staff the pair they covet on their smartphones.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

All this puts it at the heart of Chinese and US economic interests and they actively covet it.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

United also covet England's Elliot Anderson, although the Nottingham Forest player would prefer to join Manchester City.

From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026

The matches are wooden ones, in a cardboard sliding-top box, the kind I used to covet in order to make dolls’ drawers out of them.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

In effect, Spain is counting on a historical rival that covets its territory to protect that same territory.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

He makes no secret of the way he covets the mineral wealth of other countries.

From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2026

Pacifica has played 32 games in the last two seasons and won two section and two regional crowns, just not the ultimate prize it covets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2025

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government covets Chinese investment to spur a struggling economy and is pondering a request from Beijing to build a controversial new embassy building in London.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2025

She sighs like I'm bothering her and it's an imposition for her to tell me, but I know she covets the attention.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

Now she’s in the mix for a coveted best new artist nod at the Grammys.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

The company is offering new designs that mimic its coveted vintage pairs, like the 517 jeans featured in “Love Story,” the hit show chronicling the romance between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

Beyond the apartment itself, its coveted downtown location places its next owner within easy reach of some of Manhattan’s best-known neighborhoods and attractions.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

One of Ramabai's daughters is preparing for police recruitment and the other for the civil services - two fiercely competitive routes into the security and social status associated with a coveted and secure government job.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

She is a fiend for aesthetics with an eye for fashion that is both unique and coveted, and provides her with a sizable income since her retirement from the ballet.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

But it remains a relevant morality tale — of the rot that comes with coveting all of L.A.’s beautiful things and the pitfalls of parenting by giving your children all the material things you lacked.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

But Fernandes is not one for coveting individual awards.

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

The coveting provides a welcome distraction — even a bit of hope.

From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2026

Now he is vying for votes in a military-managed poll starting on Sunday, coveting the former seat of the country's best known political prisoner -- Aung San Suu Kyi.

From Barron's ● Dec. 23, 2025

I figured he’d choose the big ones—like her secretly saving up for three years in a row to buy him that expensive plane saw he was coveting over at Sears.

From "Missing May" by Cynthia Rylant

Related Words

• crave
• envy
• lust after