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pelf was our Word of the Day on 10/24/2017. Hear the podcast!
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Examples of pelf in a Sentence
a politician who seems more interested in pelf than in policy
Did You Know?
In the 14th century, the Anglo-French word pelfre, meaning "booty" or "stolen goods," was exchanged into English as "pelf" with the added meaning of "property." ("Pelfre" is also an ancestor of the English verb pilfer, meaning "to steal.") Two centuries later "pelf" showed gains when people began to use it for "money" and "riches." In some regions of Britain the word's use was diversified further, in a depreciative way, to refer to trash and good-for-nothings. The first of those meanings was a loss by about the mid-17th century; the second has little value outside of the Yorkshire region of England.
Origin and Etymology of pelf
Middle English, from Anglo-French pelfre booty
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: circa 1505
in the meaning defined above
See Words from the same yearpelf Synonyms
Synonyms
bread [slang], bucks, cash, change, chips, coin, currency, dough, gold, green, jack [slang], legal tender, lucre, money, tender, wampum;
Related Words
banknote, cashier's check, check, draft, money order, note, promissory note;
bankroll, capital, finances, funds, wad, wallet;
mite, peanuts, pittance, shoestring;
bundle, fortune, king's ransom, mint, pile, pot;
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See words that rhyme with pelf Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for pelf
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