greet

greet¹ (ɡriːt)

—vb
1.	to meet or receive with expressions of gladness or welcome
2.	to send a message of friendship to
3.	to receive in a specified manner: her remarks were greeted by silence
4.	to become apparent to: the smell of bread greeted him

[Old English grētan; related to Old High German gruozzen to address]

greet² (ɡriːt)

—vb
1.	(intr) to weep; lament

—n
2.	weeping; lamentation

[from Old English grētan, northern dialect variant of grætan; compare Old Norse grāta, Middle High German grazen]

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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

greet

O.E. gretan "to come in contact with" (in sense of "attack, accost" as well as "salute, welcome"), from W.Gmc. *grotja (cf. O.S. grotian, O.Fris. greta, Du. groeten, O.H.G. gruozen, Ger. grußen "to salute, greet"), perhaps originally "to resound" (via notion of "cause to speak"), causative of P.Gmc.

*grætanan, root of O.E. grætan (Anglian gretan) "weep, bewail," and greet still means "cry, weep" in Scot. & northern England dialect. Grætan is probably also the source of the second element in regret. First record of greeting card is from 1898.

Example sentences

These elephants greet each other by putting the tip of the trunk into the

other's mouth.

Students should try to greet the puppet in a way that will make the puppet

return their greeting.

All they want to do is greet her, but they will drag me down in the process.

In meet-and-greet situations, he tends to look down and away from people.

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greeting hail receive regret respect rise

Matching Quote

"Navajo men and boys have an odd way of showing their friendship. When two young men meet at the trading post, a "Sing", or a dance they greet each other, inquire about the health of their respective families, then stand silently some ten or fifteen minutes while one feels the other's arms, shoulders, and chest."

-Administration in the State of Ariz