Greet

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɡɹiːt/
• Rhymes: -iːt

Old English grētan, from Proto-Germanic *grōtijaną. Cognate with Dutch groeten, German grüßen. Compare Old Saxon grotian, Old Frisian greta, Old High German gruozen.

Full definition of greet

Verb

1. To address with salutations or expressions of kind wishes; to salute; to hail; to welcome; to accost with friendship; to pay respects or compliments to, either personally or through the intervention of another, or by writing or token.
• 1591, William Shakespeare, Richard III (play), Act III, scene 1My lord, the mayor of London comes to greet you.
• 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter I,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.
2. To come upon, or meet, as with something that makes the heart glad.
• '1707, Joseph Addison, Rosamond'', Act I, scene 4In vain the spring my senses greets.
3. To accost; to address.
4. (intransitive) To meet and give salutations.
• circa 1590, William Shakespeare, Titus Adronicus, Act I, scene 2, line 90There greet in silence, as the dead are wont, And sleep in peace.
5. To be perceived by (somebody).
• 2013-06-08, The new masters and commanders, 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.
6. A brilliant dawn greeted her as she looked out the window.

Derived terms

• greeter
• meet-and-greet

From Middle English greet, grete ("great").

Adjective

1. (obsolete except Scotland) Great.

From a blend of two Old English verbs, grētan (cognate with Swedish gräta', Danish græde) and grēotan (of uncertain ultimate origin), both ‘weep, lament’.

Verb

1. (Scotland, Northern England) To weep; to cry.
• 1933, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Cloud Howe, Polygon 2006 (A Scots Quair), p. 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 2009, p. 2:My maw went potty and started greeting.

Noun

1. (obsolete) Mourning, weeping, lamentation.

Anagrams

• egret