Definition
nounRiches; a great amount of valuable assets or material possessions.
nounA great amount; an abundance or plenty.
Sentence Examples
Wealth comes to those who make things happen, not to those who let things happen.
For all his wealth, he is unhappy.
The desire to gain wealth and power
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 269, about a church in Lower Peover:
"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."
— 2018 July 3, Ian Sample, “Routine DNA tests will put NHS at the 'forefront of medicine'”, in The Guardian:
"I once did lend my body for his wealth, / Which, but for him that had your husband's ring, / Had quite miscarried: […]"
— 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]:
"Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Corinthians 10:24: