Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To salute or welcome in a friendly and respectful way with speech or writing, as upon meeting or in opening a letter.
  • transitive verb To receive with a specified reaction.
  • transitive verb To be perceived by.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To address formally, as on meeting or in writing or sending a letter or message; give or send salutations to; accost; salute; hail.
  • To congratulate.
  • To salute on meeting.
  • noun A greeting.
  • To weep; cry.
  • noun Weeping; crying; a cry; complaint.
  • noun An obsolete or dialectal form of grit.
  • noun An obsolete or dialectal form of grit.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective obsolete Great.
  • intransitive verb Obs. or Scot. To weep; to cry; to lament.
  • noun obsolete Mourning.
  • transitive verb 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.
  • transitive verb To come upon, or meet, as with something that makes the heart glad.
  • transitive verb To accost; to address.
  • intransitive verb To meet and give salutations.
  • noun obsolete Greeting.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective obsolete Great.
  • verb 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.
  • verb To come upon, or meet, as with something that makes the heart glad.
  • verb To accost; to address.
  • verb intransitive To meet and give salutations.
  • verb Scotland, Northern England To weep; to cry.
  • noun obsolete Mourning, weeping, lamentation.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb be perceived by
  • verb express greetings upon meeting someone
  • verb send greetings to
  • verb react to in a certain way

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English greten, from Old English grētan.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English grētan, from Proto-Germanic *grōtijanan. Cognate with Dutch groeten, German grüßen. Compare Old Saxon grotian, Old Frisian greta, Old High German gruozen. Cognate to Albanian grish ("to invite, call").

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Examples

  • Hard (though he has a career and occupation out of his own home), that a second chance of domestic happiness should not again greet him!

    A Letter to the Queen on Lord Chancellor Cransworth's Marriage and Divorce Bill 1855

  • Is it permissible to greet a kafir with something other than 'Salam'?

    Irish Blogs 2010

  • Is it permissible to greet a kafir with something other than 'Salam'? posted in forum Mosque Reform by AHaaj on January 14, 2010 at 3: 57 pm Anti-MPAC. ie website established posted in forum Fiqh Issues, Manhaj Issues, Naseehah by Khadijah on January

    Irish Blogs 2010

  • Is it permissible to greet a kafir with something other than 'Salam'?

    Irish Blogs 2010

  • Is it permissible to greet a kafir with something other than 'Salam'? posted in forum Mosque Reform by AHaaj on January 14, 2010 at 3: 57 pm Anti-MPAC. ie website established posted in forum Fiqh Issues, Manhaj Issues, Naseehah by Khadijah on January

    Irish Blogs 2010

  • Is it permissible to greet a kafir with something other than 'Salam'?

    Irish Blogs 2010

  • We began with a cast and crew meet and greet, which is always a little nerve-wracking.

    Your Local Guardian | Wimbledon 2010

  • Is it permissible to greet a kafir with something other than 'Salam'?

    Irish Blogs 2010

  • Is it permissible to greet a kafir with something other than 'Salam'?

    Irish Blogs 2010

  • Is it permissible to greet a kafir with something other than 'Salam'? posted in forum Mosque Reform by AHaaj on January 14, 2010 at 3: 57 pm Anti-MPAC. ie website established posted in forum Fiqh Issues, Manhaj Issues, Naseehah by Khadijah on January

    Irish Blogs 2010

Comments

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  • Waving flags and blowing whistles, they raved and stamped around the frightened stone-still Thaw until his lips trembled and a drop of water spilled from his left eye.

    "Look!" they yelled. "He's greeting!" "Crybaby! Crybaby!"

    - Alasdair Gray, Lanark, ch. 12

    January 19, 2009