wealth
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
Inherited from Middle English welth, welthe (“happiness, prosperity”), from Old English *welþ, weleþu, from Proto-West Germanic *waliþu (“wealth”).
Alternatively, possibly an alteration (due to similar words in -th: compare helth (“health”), derth (“dearth”)) of wele (“wealth, well-being, weal”), from Old English wela (“wealth, prosperity”), from Proto-Germanic *walô (“well-being, prosperity”), from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“good, best”); equivalent to weal + -th. Cognate with Dutch weelde (“wealth”), Low German weelde (“wealth”), Old High German welida, welitha (“wealth”). Related also to German Wohl (“welfare, well-being, weal”), Danish vel (“weal, welfare”), Swedish väl (“well-being, weal”). More at weal, well.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
wealth (countable and uncountable, plural wealths)
- (uncountable, economics) Riches; a great amount of valuable assets or material possessions.
- (countable) A great amount; an abundance or plenty.
- She brings a wealth of knowledge to the project.
- 2018 July 3, Ian Sample, “Routine DNA tests will put NHS at the 'forefront of medicine'”, in The Guardian[1]:
- Beyond its aim to bring patients the most effective treatments faster, the service is expected to generate a wealth of data on the interplay between DNA, health and lifestyles, which will become a powerful tool for research into cancer and other diseases.
- (uncountable, obsolete) Prosperity; well-being; happiness.
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
- I once did lend my body for his wealth, / Which, but for him that had your husband's ring, / Had quite miscarried: […]
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Corinthians 10:24:
- Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth.
SynonymsEdit
- See also Thesaurus:wealth
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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ReferencesEdit
- wealth at OneLook Dictionary Search
- wealth in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
- "wealth" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 331.
- wealth in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- wealth in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913