wealth
English
Alternative forms
- wealthe, welth, welthe (all obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English welth, welthe, weolthe (“happiness, prosperity”), from Old English *welþ, *weleþu, from Proto-Germanic *waliþō (“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.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /wɛlθ/, [wɛl̪θ]
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛlθ
Noun
wealth (usually uncountable, plural wealths)
- (economics) Riches; valuable material possessions.
- 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:
- 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.
- (obsolete) Prosperity; well-being; happiness.
- c. 1596-97, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, 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), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, 1 Corinthians 10:24:
- Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth.
- c. 1596-97, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act V scene i:
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:wealth
Derived terms
Translations
riches; valuable material possessions
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great amount; an abundance or plenty, usually of money
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power, of the kind associated with a great deal of money
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
Further reading
- wealth in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- wealth in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- "wealth" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 331.
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