rich
Pronunciation
- IPA: /rɪtʃ/[1]
Etymology
It is inherited from Middle English riche,[2][3] inherited from Old English rīċe (“strong, powerful, mighty, of high rank, wealthy”),[4][3] fused with Old French riche (“wealthy, magnificent, sumptuous”),[3][4][5] itself from a Germanic source, Frankish *rīki “powerful”, like Spanish rico and Italian ricco.[4][3] The Old English word is from Proto-Germanic *rīkijaz,[4][3] the source also of Old Frisian rīke, Dutch rijk, German reich, Old Norse ríkr and Gothic reiks “ruler, mighty”,[3][4][5] which was borrowed from Celtic,[3][4][5] from Proto-Celtic *rīxs (“king”), seen in Gaulish -rix in names such as Vercingetorix and in Old Irish rí,[4][3] related to Latin rēx “king”.[5][4] Old English also had the noun rīce “rule, realm, kingdom”, the second part of bishopric and cognate with German Reich.[5][4]
Earliest recorded meaning
Old English rīce, “powerful, mighty, of high rank”, is from before 900, a sense now obsolete;[6][4] “having large possessions, wealthy” is from about 900.[6] Middle English riche is from before 1121.[3]
Semantic evolution
In Old English rich meant both powerful and wealthy,[7] and the noun meaning “the wealthy” was already in Old English.[4] Of places, “abounding in wealth or resources”, it is from about 1250,[6] and “valuable, costly, splendid” from the 12th and 13th centuries.[5][6] Johnson (1755) gave first “wealthy; abounding in wealth”.[8] The idea of lavish wealth led in the 17th century to the sense “outrageous, beyond acceptable limits”, as in that's a bit rich.[7] riches, “wealth”, is not a plural of rich but a misreading of Old French richesse “wealth”, found probably before 1200 in the Ancrene Riwle.[3][7][5] The verb, “to make rich”, is from before 1300.[6]
Timeline
- before 900 – powerful, mighty.[6]
- c. 900 – wealthy.[6]
- before 1121 – Middle English riche.[3]
- before 1200 – riches.[3]
- c. 1250 – rich in resources; valuable.[6]
- before 1300 – verb, to enrich.[6]
- 17th century – outrageous.[7]
Modern meaning
Adjective
- Having a great deal of money, property or possessions; wealthy.
- Having an abundant supply of something: rich in vitamins.
- Of soil: fertile.
- Of food: containing much fat, sugar or other heavy ingredients.
- Of colour, sound or smell: deep, full and pleasing.
- Expensive and splendid; sumptuous.
- (informal) Outrageous or absurd: that's rich.
Noun
- the rich: Wealthy people as a group.
Word family
- richly
- richness
- overrich
- new-rich
- richen
Related words
- nouveau riche
- riches
- enrich
- bishopric
- Reich
- regal
- rex
Usage notes
Rich and wealthy are the general words for having much money or property;[9] affluent suggests a growing prosperity, and flush and loaded are informal words for having plenty of money at the moment.[9]
References
- ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d e f g Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
- ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin