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Contents
greet
Overview
This page has 13 definitions of greet in English, Middle English, and Scots. Greet is a verb, an adjective and noun. Examples of how to use greet in a sentence are shown. Also define these 12 related words and terms: welcome, accost, address, perceive, great, weep, cry, mourning, weeping, lamentation, grete, and lament.
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English greten, from Old English grētan, from Proto-Germanic *grōtijaną.
Verb
greet (third-person singular simple present greets, present participle greeting, simple past and past participle greeted)
- (transitive) To welcome in a friendly manner, either in person or through another means such as writing.
- c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
- My lord, the mayor of London comes to greet you.
- 1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:
- Warwick observed, as they passed through the respectable quarter, that few people who met the girl greeted her, and that some others whom she passed at gates or doorways gave her no sign of recognition; from which he inferred that she was possibly a visitor in the town and not well acquainted.
Welcome definition
Whose arrival is a cause of joy; received with gladness; admitted willingly to the house, entertainment, or company. (1 of 3 welcome definitions)
- (transitive) To arrive at or reach, or meet.
- 1707, [Joseph Addison], Rosamond. An Opera. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act I, scene 4:
- In vain the spring my senses greets.
- 2009, Loren Long, Phil Bildner, Magic in the Outfield, page 47:
- Way deep in left field, where the carpet of green sloped upward to a terrace and greeted the thick line of trees, he reached out his glove.
- (transitive) To accost; to address.
- 1725–1726, Homer, “(please specify the book or chapter of the Odyssey)”, in [William Broome, Elijah Fenton, and Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC:
- Fair on his feet the polish'd sandals shine,
And thus he greets the master of the swine:
Accost definition
To approach and speak to boldly or aggressively, as with a demand or request. (1 of 8 accost definitions)
- (intransitive, archaic) To meet and give salutations.
- c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], line 90:
- There greet in silence, as the dead are wont, And sleep in peace.
- (transitive) To be perceived by (someone).
- A brilliant dawn greeted her eyes as she looked out of the window.
- 1964 June 16, “All Eyes On Lema At U.S. Open This Week”, in The Indianapolis Star, volume 62, number 11, Indianapolis, Ind., page 22:
- Muggy heat—temperature in the 90s and high humidity—greeted early arrivals for the 72-hole, three-day test, rated the hardest and most important in the sport.
- 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:
- From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.
Perceive definition
To become aware of, through the physical senses, to see; to understand. (1 of 2 perceive definitions)
Conjugation
Conjugation of greet
| infinitive | (to) greet | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| present tense | past tense | ||
| 1st-person singular | greet | greeted | |
| 2nd-person singular | |||
| 3rd-person singular | greets | ||
| plural | greet | ||
| subjunctive | greet | greeted | |
| imperative | greet | — | |
| participles | greeting | greeted | |
Derived terms
Translations
to address with salutations or expressions of kind wishes
|
to come upon, or meet, as with something that makes the heart glad
to accost; to address
|
intransitive: to meet and give salutations
Etymology 2
From Middle English greet, grete (“great”).
Adjective
greet (comparative more greet, superlative most greet)
Etymology 3
From a blend of two Old English verbs, grētan, grǣtan (itself from Proto-Germanic *grētaną); and of Old English grēotan (itself from Proto-Germanic *greutaną), both meaning "to weep, lament".
Verb
greet (third-person singular simple present greets, present participle greeting, simple past and past participle greeted or grat or grutten)
- (Scotland, Northern England) To weep; to cry.
- 1933, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Cloud Howe (A Scots Quair), Polygon, published 2006, page 312:
- And damn't! if he didn't take down her bit things and scone her so sore she grat like a bairn [...].
- 2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy, Penguin, published 2009, page 2:
- My maw went potty and started greeting.
Weep definition
To cry; to shed tears, especially when accompanied with sobbing or other difficulty speaking, as an expression of emotion such as sadness or joy. (1 of 7 weep definitions)
Related terms
Noun
greet (uncountable)
- (obsolete) Mourning, weeping, lamentation.
Mourning definition
present participle and gerund of mourn
Weeping definition
present participle and gerund of weep
Further reading
- Frank Graham (1987) The New Geordie Dictionary, →ISBN
- Northumberland Words, English Dialect Society, R. Oliver Heslop, 1893–4
- “greet”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams
Middle English
Adjective
greet (plural and weak singular greete, comparative greter, superlative gretest)
- Alternative form of grete
- c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)[1], published c. 1410, James 3:5, page 110vre, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:
- ſo alſo þe tunge is but a litle membꝛe ⁊ reiſiþ grete þingis / lo hou litil fier bꝛenneþ a grete wode.
- Similarly, the tongue's only a little organ, but it produces great things; look at how a small fire burns down a large forest.
Grete definition
great, massive, amazing
Scots
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From a blend of two Old English verbs, grētan (cognate with Swedish gråta', Danish græde) and grēotan (of uncertain ultimate origin), both ‘weep, lament’.
Verb
greet (third-person singular simple present greets, present participle greetin, simple past grat or grettit, past participle grutten)
- to weep, lament
- 2008, Gordon Jarvie, Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales from Burns to Buchan, Penguin UK, →ISBN:
- Then Sandy jumpit oot the boat, an he ran an ran greetin an sobbin an sobbin an greetin. An when he ran up tae the fairm, this ceilidh's still gaun on, see? an the pot o sowens is still on the fire! An he cam in howlin an greetin an sobbin, an the laird says tae him, ‘Whit's adae wi ye, Sandy?'
- Then Sandy jumped out of the boat, and he ran and ran weeping and sobbing and sobbing and weeping. And when he ran up to the farm, this ceilidh's still going on, see? And the pot of flummery is still on the fire! And he came in howling and weeping and sobbing, and the lord of the manor says to him, 'What's the matter with you, Sandy?'
- 2013, Donal McLaughlin, transl., Naw Much of a Talker, Freight Books, translation of Der Goalie bin ig by Pedro Lenz, page 5:
- Thinking o Regula hid me greetin aw ae a sudden.
- Thinking of Regula had me weeping all of a sudden.
Noun
greet (uncountable)
Etymology 2
Adjective
greet (comparative greeter, superlative greetest)
- Alternative form of great