Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CU-PID'I-TY, n. [L. cupiditas, from cupidus, from cupio, to desire, to covet. See Class Gb, No. 22, 24.]

An eager desire to possess something; an ardent wishing or longing; inordinate or unlawful desire of wealth or power. It is not used, I believe, for the animal appetite, like lust or concupiscence, but for desire of the mind. No property is secure when it becomes large enough to tempt the cupidity of indigent power. – Burke.