greet

[greet]

See more synonyms for greet on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to address with some form of salutation; welcome.
to meet or receive: to be greeted by cheering crowds; to greet a proposal with boos and hisses.
to manifest itself to: Music greeted his ear as he entered the salon.

verb (used without object)

Obsolete. to give salutations on meeting.

Origin of greet

before 900; Middle English greten, Old English grētan; cognate with German grüssen

Related formsgreet·er, noun

Synonyms for greet

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1. hail, accost.

greet

[greet]Scot. and North England Archaic.

verb (used without object)

to grieve; lament; cry.

verb (used with object)

to lament; bewail.

Origin of greet

before 900; Middle English grete, Old English grǣtan; cognate with ON grāta, Gothic gretan

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for greeted

attend, acknowledge, receive, stop, hail, accost, embrace, address, meet, approach, salute, shoulder, nod, recognize, bow, herald, flag, salaam, curtsy, compliment

Examples from the Web for greeted

Contemporary Examples of greeted

In contrast, Boehner's leadership team filed into his ceremonial office and greeted the teary newly-elected Speaker with hugs.
Democrats Accidentally Save Boehner From Republican Coup
Ben Jacobs, Jackie Kucinich
January 6, 2015
Ramos would help set the tone of the day when he greeted the arriving students outside the school.
In The Shadow of Murdered Cops
Michael Daly
December 26, 2014
Team Christie has greeted the committee's news with somewhat predictable gloating.
Democrats Clear Christie In Bridgegate Investigation
Olivia Nuzzi
December 5, 2014
It appears that even the president sensed his announcement would be greeted with skepticism.
SWAT Lobby Shoots to Kill Police Reform After Ferguson
Tim Mak
December 2, 2014
Indeed, he was greeted by his constituents as something of a household god.
Despite Crack and Graft, D.C. Loved ‘Hizzoner’ Marion Barry
Lloyd Grove
November 23, 2014

Historical Examples of greeted

The Milbreys, father and son, came up and greeted the group on the piazza.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Malbone knew the whole company, and greeted them with his accustomed ease.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
"Then prepare to be greeted with an icy blast," predicted Emma.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
"I'm so glad you've come," greeted Grace as her friend entered their room.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
The reading of the letter was greeted with prolonged applause.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook

British Dictionary definitions for greeted

greet

verb (tr)

to meet or receive with expressions of gladness or welcome
to send a message of friendship to
to receive in a specified mannerher remarks were greeted by silence
to become apparent tothe smell of bread greeted him

Word Origin for greet

Old English grētan; related to Old High German gruozzen to address

greet

verb

(intr) to weep; lament

noun

weeping; lamentation

Word Origin for greet

from Old English grētan, northern dialect variant of grætan; compare Old Norse grāta, Middle High German grazen

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for greeted

greet

Old English gretan "to come in contact with" (in sense of "attack, accost" as well as "salute, welcome," and "touch, take hold of, handle"), from West Germanic *grotjan (cf. Old Saxon grotian, Old Frisian greta, Dutch groeten, Old High German gruozen, German grüßen "to salute, greet"), perhaps originally "to resound" (via notion of "cause to speak"), causative of Proto-Germanic *grætanan, root of Old English grætan (Anglian gretan) "weep, bewail," from PIE *gher- "to call out." Greet still can mean "cry, weep" in Scottish & northern England dialect, though this might be from a different root. Grætan is probably also the source of the second element in regret. Related: Greeted; greeting.