pelf

Meaning

Money, riches; gain, especially when dishonestly acquired; lucre, mammon.
Rubbish, trash; specifically (British, dialectal) refuse from plants.
Dust; fluff.
A contemptible or useless person.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/pɛlf/

From Late Middle English pelf, pelfe (“stolen goods, booty, spoil; forfeited property; money, riches; property; valuable object”), possibly from Anglo-Norman pelf (a variant of pelfre (“booty, loot”)) and Old French peufre (“frippery; rubbish”); further etymology uncertain, possibly a metathesis of Old French felpe, ferpe, frepe (“a rag”). The English word is perhaps related to Late Latin pelfa, pelfra, pelfrum (“forfeited or stolen goods”), Middle French peuffe and French peufe, peuffe (“old clothes; rubbish”) (Normandy), and pilfer.

Bookmark this

Improve your pronunciation

Write this word