av·a·rice

[av-er-is]
noun
insatiable greed for riches; inordinate, miserly desire to gain and hoard wealth.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French < Latin avāritia, equivalent to avār(us) greedy + -itia -ice


cupidity.
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World English Dictionary
avarice (ˈævərɪs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
extreme greed for riches; cupidity
 
[C13: from Old French, from Latin avaritia, from avārus covetous, from avēre to crave]
 
ava'ricious
 
adj
 
ava'riciously
 
adv
 
ava'riciousness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Main Entry:  avarice
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  excessive or insatiable desire or greed; cupidity
Etymology:  Latin avere 'to covet'
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

avarice
c.1300, from O.Fr. avarice (12c.), from L. avaritia "greed," from avarus "greedy," adj. form of avere "crave, long for."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
We effectively live in a plutocracy that only answers to avarice and to the benefit of our oligarchs.
His characters are motivated by lust, avarice and vanity but elicit sympathy
  because of their vulnerability.
When it was known he had left all to public uses, people said that this was
  mere envy, avarice and pride.
She turned away and bent over the tea chest again, cleanly stabbed by avarice,
  like a peach with a silver knife.
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