Ambition

·vt To seek after ambitiously or eagerly; to Covet.

II. Ambition ·noun The act of going about to solicit or obtain an office, or any other object of desire; canvassing.

III. Ambition ·noun An eager, and sometimes an inordinate, desire for preferment, honor, superiority, power, or the attainment of something.

ambition
In North Carolina this word is used instead of the word grudge, as, "I had an ambition against that ...

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
ambition
is usually denominated a virtue or a vice according to its direction; but assuredly more of the form...

The Sailor's Word-Book