Definition of covetous

Question

hello, i read this sentence in a newspaper and it said "lilly delivered a covetous service". What does the "covetous" word mean in this sentence? I have looked it up and it seems to mean greed, but i am not sure what it means in the sentence above.
any help would be greatly appreciated.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]hello, i read this sentence in a newspaper and it said "lilly delivered a covetous service". What does the "covetous" ... mean greed, but i am not sure what it means in the sentence above. any help would be greatly appreciated.[/nq]
Please can you give us a few more sentences from before and after that sentence.
"covetous" might be a misprint for "courteous".

Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.english.usage)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]hello, i read this sentence in a newspaper and it said "lilly delivered a covetous service". What does the "covetous" ... mean greed, but i am not sure what it means in the sentence above. any help would be greatly appreciated.[/nq]
To covet means, in the Ten Commandments, for example, to want what someone else has. It's not the same as jealousy, which only necessarily means to want another copy of or something like what the other person has. For example, he might have a sports car and your jealous of it and want a sports car too. To covet his sports car is to want his for yourself, in order that or with the result that he doesn't have one anymore.
I can't imagine what a covetous service would be, unless it was one that urged coveting. And I can't imagine that was the case. Was it a funeral service, for a guy who coveted things, and perhaps acquired them to the detriment of those who had them first? And lilly praised him for doing this? Very hard to believe, except maybe in Bizarro-land, where iiuc people act backwards from normal.

I'll bet another word was intended.
Recently I put Yerushalayim** in a post, and the spell checker suggested personality instead! That was the first suggested alternative, but there were others just as distant. And usually this spell checker works really well. There seems to be no telling what a spell checker will suggest.
**The Hebrew name for Jerusalem. This spell checker (Agent 1.9) will make no exception for capitalized words. It checks them too.

Posters should say where they live, and for which
area they are asking questions. I have lived in
Western Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis 10 years
Chicago 6 years
Brooklyn, NY 12 years
Baltimore 26 years

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]To covet means, in the Ten Commandments, for example, to want what someone else has. It's not the same ... doesn't have one anymore. I can't imagine what a covetous service would be, unless it was one that urged coveting.[/nq]
I can.

The services of a prostitute, for example, where you'd like to retain them just for yourself. Although, in this case, it was probably not /that/ kind of service.
[nq:1]Recently I put Yerushalayim** in a post, and the spell checker suggested personality instead! That was the first suggested ... And usually this spell checker works really well. There seems to be no telling what a spell checker will suggest.[/nq]
I have a different gripe about spell-checkers. As you know, I'm not a native English speaker, and therefore my spelling is quite good. The errors I make are usually from hitting adjacent keys to the ones that have to be pressed, and not because I don't know the spelling of the word. The spell-checkers, however, assume that I hit the keys I intended, but don't know the spelling, and therefore offer primarily corrections that sound or look similar to what I typed. The words I actually intended to type are almost never first choices. It would be very good to have the option to tell the spell checker what keyboard layout one uses (if it can't get it on its own via a system call), and make it offer the adjacent letters corrections first.

You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]hello, i read this sentence in a newspaper and it ... in the sentence above. any help would be greatly appreciated.[/nq]
[nq:1]To covet means, in the Ten Commandments, for example, to want what someone else has. It's not the same as jealousy, which only necessarily means to want another copy of or something like what the other person has.Isn't that envy?[/nq]
If A wants a car like B's, then A is envious.
If A hates B looking at A's wife, then A is jealous. If A wants B's wife, that's covetous.
For example, he might have a sports car and your

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]To covet means, in the Ten Commandments, for example, to ... copy of or something like what the other person has.[/nq]
[nq:1]Isn't that envy?[/nq]
Yes. I think it's that too.
[nq:1]If A wants a car like B's, then A is envious. If A hates B looking at A's wife, then A is jealous.[/nq]
I've never made this distinction between envy and jealousy.

Maybe envy is the better word. I can't tell right now.
[nq:1]If A wants B's wife, that's covetous. For example, he might have a sports car and your[/nq]
[nq:2]jealous of it and want a sports car too. To ... make no exception for capitalized words. It checks them too.[/nq]
Posters should say where they live, and for which
area they are asking questions. I have lived in
Western Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis 10 years
Chicago 6 years
Brooklyn, NY 12 years
Baltimore 26 years

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]To covet means, in the Ten Commandments, for example, to want what someone else has. It's not the same ... doesn't have one anymore. I can't imagine what a covetous service would be, unless it was one that urged coveting.[/nq]
I can.

The services of a prostitute, for example, where you'd like to retain them just for yourself. Although, in this case, it was probably not /that/ kind of service.
[nq:1]Recently I put Yerushalayim** in a post, and the spell checker suggested personality instead! That was the first suggested ... And usually this spell checker works really well. There seems to be no telling what a spell checker will suggest.[/nq]
I have a different gripe about spell-checkers. As you know, I'm not a native English speaker, and therefore my spelling is quite good. The errors I make are usually from hitting adjacent keys to the ones that have to be pressed, and not because I don't know the spelling of the word. The spell-checkers, however, assume that I hit the keys I intended, but don't know the spelling, and therefore offer primarily corrections that sound or look similar to what I typed. The words I actually intended to type are almost never first choices. It would be very good to have the option to tell the spell checker what keyboard layout one uses (if it can't get it on its own via a system call), and make it offer the adjacent letter corrections first.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I have a different gripe about spell-checkers. As you know, I'm not a native English speaker, and therefore my spelling is quite good.[/nq]
LOL. Unfortunately, that's probably the right conclusion.
[nq:1]The errors I make are usually from hitting adjacent keys to the ones that have to be pressed, and not ... it can't get it on its own via a system call), and make it offer the adjacent letter corrections first.[/nq]
Spelling checkers are not a substitute for proofreading.

Bill in Kentucky
Reverse parts of the user name and ISP name for my e-address

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]To covet means, in the Ten Commandments, for example, to ... service would be, unless it was one that urged coveting.[/nq]
[nq:1]I can.

The services of a prostitute, for example, where you'd like to retain them just for yourself. Although, in this case, it was probably not /that/ kind of service.[/nq]
Since you have said this twice, I will disagree. I think the customer might be coveting** the service in this case, but I don't think the service is covetous. Coveted, at most.
**Even then, unless someone else had the service first, which I guess is implied since almost always she's working when customer A isn't there.

Posters should say where they live, and for which
area they are asking questions. I have lived in
Western Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis 10 years
Chicago 6 years
Brooklyn, NY 12 years
Baltimore 26 years

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I can.

The services of a prostitute, for example, ... this case, it was probably not /that/ kind of service.[/nq]
[nq:1]Since you have said this twice, I will disagree. I think the customer might be coveting the service in this case, but I don't think the service is covetous. Coveted, at most.[/nq]
Oops, a good thing that you did, because then I would've said it thrice, and then it would have to be true. I completely missed the nuance, thinking for some reason that the meaning of 'covetous' is 'covetable'. My bad.

You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I have a different gripe about spell-checkers. As you know, I'm not a native English speaker, and therefore my spelling is quite good.[/nq]
[nq:1]LOL. Unfortunately, that's probably the right conclusion.[/nq]
Well, yeah. Given that's how I learned most words - by reading and writing them, my primary memory for each word is its spelled form. As I've mentioned before, this fact makes guessing puns quite hard for me. I don't have strong associations in my mind between words that sound the same, but are written differently. Provided that I even know they are pronounced the same. I've actually never spoken or heard the majority of the English words I know.
[nq:2]The errors I make are usually from hitting adjacent keys ... call), and make it offer the adjacent letter corrections first.[/nq]
[nq:1]Spelling checkers are not a substitute for proofreading.[/nq]
Quite true. But I never said they were.

You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone.

Definition of covetous

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions