welfare

CEFRB2

/ˈwɛlˌfɛə/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    Help given by the government to people needing money or support.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Shortened form of "welfare spending", "welfare payments", or "welfare assistance".

Examples

  • Science and art must contribute to the promotion of human welfare.

  • We are concerned about the child's welfare.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2
Synonyms
4

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. To provide with welfare or aid.

  2. Health, safety, happiness and prosperity; well-being in any respect.

More examples

In context

  • The committee is discussing social welfare.

  • welfaring the poor

  • Oliveira seems to suggest that the Jews of Kiryas Joel are somehow gaming the welfare system to fund their lifestyles, while simultaneously acknowledging the high poverty rates in the town that qualify residents for programs like Medicaid.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The government program provides blank to help low-income families afford basic needs.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English welefare, probably from the Old English phrase wel faran (“to fare well, get along successfully, prosper”) (cognate with Middle Dutch welvare (“welfare”), Middle Low German wolvare (“welfare”), Middle High German wolvar, wolfar (“welfare”)). Equivalent to well + fare. Compare also West Frisian wolfeart, Dutch welvaart, German Wohlfahrt, Old Norse velferð (whence Swedish välfärd (“welfare”)). The first recorded use in the sense of "social concern for the well-being of children, the unemployed, etc." is from 1904 and in the sense of "organized effort to provide for maintenance of members of a group" from 1918.