richesse

English

Etymology

From Middle English richesse, from Old French richese, richece.

Noun

richesse (usually uncountable, plural richesses)

1. (archaic) wealth or riches
2. (countable, collective) A group of martens; the collective noun for martens.

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French richesce. By surface analysis, riche +‎ -esse.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁi.ʃɛs/
• Rhymes: -ɛs

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

richesse f (plural richesses)

1. wealth
2. (literally and figuratively) richness

Further reading

• “richesse”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• chérisse

Middle English

Alternative forms

• reches, ricchesse, richees, riches, richess, ruchesse, rychas, rycheis, ryches, rychesce, rychese, rychesse, ryhchesse
• richeise, richeisse, richesce (Early Middle English)

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French richesce, richesse, from riche (“rich”). Some forms are reinterpreted as the plural of riche (“rich”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /riˈt͡ʃɛs(ə)/, /ˈrit͡ʃɛs(ə)/

Noun

richesse (plural richesses)

1. Wealth, lucre, valuables:
   1. (collective) Riches, valuables; precious goods.
   2. (in the plural, religion) (Earthly or heavenly) riches.
   3. Opulence, splendour; visible wealth.
2. Profusion, abundance; the state of being prosperous or plentiful.
3. (collective) Fine ornaments or adornments; ornamentation.
4. (rare) Value, worthiness.

Descendants

• English: riches (remodelled as a plural of rich); richesse
• Scots: riches (remodelled as a plural of rich)
• Yola: reeches (remodelled as a plural of reeche)

References

• “riches, n. plural.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• “riches(se, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Norman

Noun

richesse f (plural richesses)

1. wealth

Old French

Noun

richesse oblique singular, f (oblique plural richesses, nominative singular richesse, nominative plural richesses)

1. Alternative form of richesce