greeting

[ gree-ting ]

/ ˈgri tɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR greeting ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act or words of a person who greets.

a friendly message from someone who is absent: a greeting from a friend in another country.

greetings, an expression of friendly or respectful regard: Send my greetings to your family.

Nearby words

Origin of greeting

before 900; Middle English, Old English gretinge. See greet¹, -ing¹

Related formsgreet·ing·less, adjective

Definition for greeting (2 of 3)

greet

[ greet ]

/ grit /

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

SYNONYMS FOR greet

1 hail, accost.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR greet ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsgreet·er, noun

Definition for greeting (3 of 3)

greet

[ greet ]

/ grit /

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

Examples from the Web for greeting

Clinton, meanwhile, spent several minutes greeting audience members along the rope line and posing for cellphone selfies.
Hillary Clinton Basks in Labor’s Love: ‘This Is Like a Homecoming!’|David Freedlander|September 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Later she explains why typical forms of greeting in Sierra Leone, such as shaking hands and hugging, are no longer acceptable.
Courageous Filmmakers Are Fighting Ebola On Screen|Abby Haglage|August 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
According to the recipient of his greeting, Patreese Johnson, he said, “I want some of that” and motioned to her crotch.
‘Out in the Night’ and the Redemption of the ‘Killer Lesbian Gang'|Nina Strochlic|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They accuse old friends and colleagues of terrible things, even if they do something simple like return a greeting on Facebook.
Iran Says Take Off the Veil—and Be Raped|IranWire|June 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A city bus rolls past; the driver gives a greeting honk and Furry waves.
Stanley Booth on the Life and Hard Times of Blues Genius Furry Lewis|Stanley Booth|June 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sutton started, and then greeting Foley in his old reserved way, they paced together slowly on the garden path.
The Youth of Parnassus and Other Stories|Logan Pearsall Smith
It occurred to him that he ought to go to Big Marsh to-night and convey his mother's greeting.
The Girl From the Marsh Croft|Selma Lagerlf
It would be quite impossible to describe the joy of the greeting, and the explanations and the reunion that followed.
Bobby of the Labrador|Dillon Wallace
He took off his hat, but was so astonished he could scarcely utter a greeting.
An Alabaster Box|Mary E. Wilkins Freeman and Florence Morse Kingsley
And, if his greeting were less friendly than usual, he was treated to a half of lager later in the day.
Norse Tales and Sketches|Alexander Lange Kielland

British Dictionary definitions for greeting (1 of 3)

greeting

/ (ˈɡriːtɪŋ) /

noun

the act or an instance of welcoming or saluting on meeting

(often plural)

an expression of friendly salutation
(as modifier)a greetings card

British Dictionary definitions for greeting (2 of 3)

greet

/ (ɡriːt) /

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

British Dictionary definitions for greeting (3 of 3)

greet

/ (ɡriːt) Scot /

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 greeting (1 of 2)

greeting

Old English greting "salutation," verbal noun from gretan (see greet). Related: Greetings. First record of greeting card is from 1876.

Word Origin and History for greeting (1 of 2)

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.

greeting

noun

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of greeting

Definition for greeting (2 of 3)

greet

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of greet

Definition for greeting (3 of 3)

greet

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

Origin of greet

Examples from the Web for greeting

British Dictionary definitions for greeting (1 of 3)

greeting

noun

British Dictionary definitions for greeting (2 of 3)

greet

verb (tr)

Word Origin for greet

British Dictionary definitions for greeting (3 of 3)

greet

verb

noun

Word Origin for greet

Word Origin and History for greeting (1 of 2)

greeting

Word Origin and History for greeting (1 of 2)

greet