welfare English · revision 5238

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1303}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈwel.feə/, US /ˈwel.fer/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a Middle English compound, [[af|enm|wel|fare|alt1=wel-|alt2=fare]], from the phrase wel faren “to fare well”, from Old English wel faran.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) It is formed from [[well]] and [[fare]], probably after Old Norse velferð.^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The condition of doing or being well, good fortune: 1303, in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the mid-14th century it also meant a safe or secure condition, exemption from evil.^(Etymonline) Good cheer and abundance of food and drink were senses of the late 14th century, now obsolete.^(OED 1989) The modern social sense, concern for the well-being of children and the unemployed, is first recorded in 1904 in phrases such as ''welfare work'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and the organized maintenance of members of a community from 1918.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The ''welfare state'' is recorded from 1941,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and ''on welfare'', receiving public aid, from 1946 in the United States.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1303 – well-being.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1904 – social concern for the needy.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1918 – organized care of a community.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1941 – ''welfare state''.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1946 – ''on welfare''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Health, happiness and [[well-being]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Money or other help given to people in need, especially by the government.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Work to improve the living conditions of poor or [[disadvantaged]] people.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[welfarism]]

+ * [[antiwelfare]]

+ * [[social welfare]]

+ * [[welfare state]]

+ * [[welfare hotel]]

+ * [[welfare economics]]

+ * [[corporate welfare]]

+ * [[welfare mother]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[well]]

+ * [[fare]]

+ * [[farewell]]

+ * [[warfare]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}