mammonism

American  

[mam-uh-niz-uhm] / ˈmæm əˌnɪz əm /

noun

1. the greedy pursuit of riches.

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Other Word Forms

• mammonist noun
• mammonistic adjective
• mammonite noun

Etymology

Origin of mammonism

First recorded in 1815–25; mammon + -ism

Explanation

Mammonism is the greedy pursuit of material riches: chasing money and wealth above all else. The word mammon comes from the Hebrew word for "money," and it is famously used in the Bible in a quote usually translated as "You cannot serve both God and mammon." Over time, literary traditions personified Mammon as a demon of avarice who tempted people through greed. But mammonism doesn't usually mean the literal act of worshipping this hypothetical demon; instead, it just means an obsession with material gain and the accumulation of riches.

Example Sentences

Never, surely, against an earnest working mammonism was there brought by game-preserving aristocratic dilettantism, a stranger accusation since this world began.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Volume 54, No. 333, July 1843 by Various

In fine, W—— was not in any respect peculiar, or, as a community, specially afflicted with heartlessness, frivolity, brainlessness, or mammonism; the average was fair, reputable, in all respects.

From Macaria by Evans, Augusta J. (Augusta Jane)

This spirit must be reformed; faith instead of scepticism, idealism instead of mammonism, self-sacrifice instead of selfishness, and social spirit instead of individualism must again come into the heart of man.

From Socialism and the Social Movement in the 19th Century by Sombart, Werner