wealth

English

Alternative forms

• wealthe, welth, welthe (all obsolete)

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English welth, welthe (“happiness, prosperity”), from Old English *welþ, *welþu, 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 (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with West Frisian wielde (“wealth”), 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

• (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /wɛlθ/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (Australia, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /welθ/
• (England, th-fronting) IPA^(key): /wɛlf/
• Rhymes: -ɛlθ

Noun

wealth (countable and uncountable, plural wealths)

1. (uncountable, economics) Riches; a great amount of valuable assets or material possessions.

   Money talks, but true wealth whispers.

   • 1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozwój (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 287:

     The existence of many nations and national characters is part of the cultural wealth of mankind, and there is no reason to seek to diminish their number.

2. (countable) A great amount; an abundance or plenty.

   She brings a wealth of knowledge to the project.

   • 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 269, about a church in Lower Peover:

     There is a wealth of carved wood inside: from pulpit to pews, screens to lectern, and a large medieval chest made from a hollowed-out log of bog-oak with a massive lid.

   • 2018 July 3, Ian Sample, “Routine DNA tests will put NHS at the 'forefront of medicine'”, in The Guardian‎^[1], archived from the original on 13 October 2026:

     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.

3. (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.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:wealth

Derived terms

• bookshelf wealth
• bridewealth
• cattlewealth
• commonwealth, Commonwealth
• cultural wealth
• generational wealth
• health is wealth
• health is your first wealth
• megawealth
• overwealth
• redistribution of wealth
• roll in wealth
• self-made wealth
• sovereign wealth fund
• stealth wealth
• superwealth
• unwealth
• wealthen
• wealthfare
• wealthful
• wealthfully
• wealthily
• wealthiness
• wealthless
• wealthlessness
• wealthmaker
• wealthmaking
• wealthmonger
• wealth tax
• wealthy
• wealthyish

Translations

riches; valuable material possessions

• Afar: gadda
• Afrikaans: rykdom
• Albanian: pasuri (sq) m
• Arabic: أَمْوَال m (ʔamwāl), ثَرْوَة f (ṯarwa)
• Armenian: հարստություն (hy) (harstutʻyun), ինչք (hy) (inčʻkʻ), բարիք (hy) (barikʻ)
• Aromanian: aveari
• Azerbaijani: sərvət (az), dövlət (az), var-dövlət
• Bashkir: байлыҡ (baylıq)
• Basque: aberastasun
• Belarusian: бага́цце (be) n (baháccje), бага́цьце n (bahácʹcje), замо́жнасць f (zamóžnascʹ), замо́жнасьць f (zamóžnasʹcʹ)
• Bengali: ধন (bn) (dhon), সম্পত্তি (bn) (śompotti)
• Bulgarian: бога́тство (bg) n (bogátstvo)
• Burmese: ဓန (my) (dha.na.), စည်းစိမ် (my) (cany:cim), ဘောဂ (my) (bhau:ga.)
• Catalan: patrimoni (ca) m, riquesa (ca) f
• Chichewa: chuma
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 財富 / 财富 (coi⁴ fu³)

  Hokkien: 財富 / 财富 (zh-min-nan) (châi-hù)

  Mandarin: 財富 / 财富 (zh) (cáifù)

• Comorian:

  Ngazidja Comorian: mali class 9/10

• Czech: bohatství (cs) n
• Danish: rigdom c
• Dutch: rijkdom (nl) m
• Edo: ẹ̀fè
• Esperanto: riĉeco
• Estonian: rikkus
• Finnish: varallisuus (fi); rikkaus (fi), rikkaudet pl
• French: richesse (fr) f
• Galician: facenda (gl) f, riqueza (gl) f
• Georgian: სიმდიდრე (simdidre)
• German: Reichtum (de) m, Vermögen (de) n
• Gothic: 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿 n (faihu), 𐌲𐌰𐌱𐌴𐌹 f (gabei)
• Greek: πλούτος (el) m (ploútos)

  Ancient Greek: πλοῦτος m (ploûtos)

• Guianese Creole: richès
• Hausa: dukiya
• Hebrew: עושר \ עֹשֶׁר (he) m ('ósher)
• Hindi: धन (hi) m (dhan), संपत्ति (hi) f (sampatti)
• Hungarian: gazdagság (hu)
• Icelandic: auður (is) m
• Igala: ídúù, ùrà, ánána
• Igbo: àkụ̀, ọkụ̀ (ig), ụ̀ba
• Irish: saibhreas m
• Italian: ricchezza (it) f, patrimonio (it) m
• Izon: ụngọ́, tími-èbií
• Japanese: 財産 (ja) (ざいさん, zaisan), 富 (ja) (とみ, tomi), 財 (ja) (たから, takara), 富裕 (ja) (ふゆう, fuyū)
• Javanese: bandha (jv)
• Jeju: 부 (bu)
• Karakhanid: نانْكْ (nēŋ)
• Kazakh: байлық (kk) (baylıq)
• Khmer: វត្ថុ (km) (vŏətthoʼ), ធន (km) (thŭən)
• Korean: 부유(富裕) (ko) (buyu), 부(富) (ko) (bu), 재산(財産) (ko) (jaesan)
• Krio: jɛntri
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: saman (ku)

• Kyrgyz: байлык (ky) (baylık)
• Lao: ຄວາມຮັ່ງມີ (khuām hang mī), ຊັບສິນ (lo) (sap sin), ສິນ (sin), ຊັບ (sap)
• Latin: ops (la) f, dīvitiae f, locupletatio f
• Latvian: bagātība f, turība f
• Lithuanian: tur̃tas (lt) m
• Low German:

  German Low German: Riekdom

• Lushootseed: ʔiʔab
• Macedonian: бо́гатство n (bógatstvo)
• Malay: kekayaan (ms)
• Malayalam: സമ്പത്ത് (ml) (sampattŭ)
• Manchu: ᡠᠯᡳᠨ (ulin)
• Middle English: win, wele, welthe
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: баялаг (mn) (bajalag)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: rikdom m

• Occitan: riquesa (oc) f
• Old English: wela m
• Pashto: ثروت (ps) m (sarwát), دارايي (ps) f (dārāyí), دولت (ps) m (dawlát)
• Persian:

  Dari: ثَرْوَت (sarwat), دَولَت (dawlat), دَارَایِی (dārāyī)

  Iranian Persian: ثِرْوَت (servat), دُولَت (dowlat), دارایی (fa) (dârâyi)

• Polish: zamożność (pl) f, bogactwo (pl) n, bogatość (pl) f (rare)
• Portuguese: riqueza (pt) f
• Quechua: kapuy
• Romanian: avere (ro) f, bogăție (ro) f
• Russian: бога́тство (ru) n (bogátstvo), благосостоя́ние (ru) n (blagosostojánije)
• Saho: gadda
• Sanskrit: धन्य (sa) n (dhánya)
• Scottish Gaelic: ionmhas m, beartas m, maoin f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: бога̀тство n

  Latin: bogàtstvo (sh) n

• Slovak: bohatstvo n
• Slovene: bogástvo (sl) n
• Somali: maal (so)
• Spanish: prosperidad (es) f, riqueza (es) f
• Swedish: rikedom (sv) c, förmögenhet (sv) c, välstånd (sv) c
• Tagalog: yaman (tl)
• Tajik: сарват (tg) (sarvat), боигарӣ (boyigari), дороӣ (doroyi), давлат (tg) (davlat)
• Tatar: байлык (tt) (baylıq)
• Telugu: ఐశ్వర్యము (te) (aiśvaryamu), ధనము (te) (dhanamu)
• Thai: ความรวย (th) (kwaam-ruai), ความมั่งคั่ง (th) (kwaam-mâng-kâng), ธน (th) (ton)
• Tibetan: ཕྱུག (phyug)
• Turkish: servet (tr), varlık (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: ثروت (servet), سرمایه (sermaye), مال (mal), مایه (maya, maye)

• Turkmen: baýlyk (tk)
• Ukrainian: бага́тство (uk) n (bahátstvo), замо́жність (uk) f (zamóžnistʹ)
• Urdu: ثَرْوَت f (sarvat), دَھن m (dhan), دَولَت f (daulat)
• Uyghur: بايلىق (bayliq)
• Uzbek: boylik (uz), sarvat (uz) (dated), davlat (uz) (dated in this sense)
• Vietnamese: tài phúc (財富), sự giàu có (vi)
• Volapük: lieg (vo)
• Yiddish: רײַכקײַט f (raykhkayt)
• Yoruba: ọlà, ọrọ̀
• ǃXóõ: ǂkxʻái

great amount; an abundance or plenty, usually of money

• Afrikaans: rykdom
• Azerbaijani: bolluq (az), zənglinlik, kəlan
• Breton: pinvidigezh (br) f
• Bulgarian: изоби́лие (bg) n (izobílie)
• Catalan: riquesa (ca) f, abundància (ca) f
• Czech: bohatství (cs) n
• Danish: rigdom, velstand (da), formue
• Dutch: rijkdom (nl) m, weelde (nl) f
• Finnish: rikkaus (fi)
• French: profusion (fr) f, abondance (fr) f
• German: Fülle (de) f
• Greek: πλούτος (el) m (ploútos)
• Hindi: संपन्न (hi) m (sampann), समृद्ध (hi) m (samŕddh)
• Hungarian: vagyon (hu), bőség
• Italian: abbondanza (it) f
• Japanese: 豊富 (ja) (ほうふ, hōfu)
• Javanese: bandha (jv)
• Korean: 풍부(豊富) (ko) (pungbu)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: دۆڵەمەندی (dollemendî), سامان (ckb) (saman)

• Latvian: mantība f, bagātība f, labklājība f
• Low German:

  German Low German: Riekdom

• Macedonian: изоби́лие n (izobílie), изо́билство n (izóbilstvo)
• Malayalam: സമ്പത്ത് (ml) (sampattŭ)
• Middle English: welthe
• Polish: bogactwo (pl) n, mnóstwo (pl) n
• Portuguese: abundância (pt) f
• Russian: бога́тство (ru) n (bogátstvo), изоби́лие (ru) n (izobílije)
• Scottish Gaelic: beartas m
• Swedish: rikedom (sv) c, förmögenhet (sv) c, välstånd (sv) c
• Turkish: bolluk (tr), varlıklılık (tr)

power, of the kind associated with a great deal of money

• Belarusian: дабрабы́т m (dabrabýt)
• Bulgarian: благосъстоя́ние (bg) n (blagosăstojánie)
• Dutch: vermogen (nl) n
• Finnish: rikkaus (fi)
• Japanese: 富 (ja) (とみ, tomi)
• Korean: 부(富) (ko) (bu)
• Macedonian: благосо́стојба f (blagosóstojba)
• Portuguese: poder (pt) m
• Russian: благосостоя́ние (ru) n (blagosostojánije), благополу́чие (ru) n (blagopolúčije)
• Swedish: makt (sv) c, mäktighet (sv) c, välgång (sv) c
• Ukrainian: добро́бут m (dobróbut)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} weelde (nl) f
• French: ^{(please verify)} richesse (fr) f, ^{(please verify)} fortune (fr) f
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} ricchezza (it) f
• Latin: ^{(please verify)} divitiae f pl
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: ^{(please verify)} ثِرْوَت (servat)

• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} avere (ro) f, ^{(please verify)} bogăție (ro) f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ^{(please verify)} богатство n

  Latin: ^{(please verify)} bogatstvo (sh) n, ^{(please verify)} imućnost f

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} riqueza (es) f
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} సంపద (te) (sampada)

References

• “wealth”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• wealth in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• Raymond Williams (1983), “Wealth”, in Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society, revised American edition, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, published 1985, →ISBN, page 331.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “wealth”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “wealth”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.