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Welfare - 5 dictionary results

wel⋅fare

[wel-fair]
–noun
1. the good fortune, health, happiness, prosperity, etc., of a person, group, or organization; well-being: to look after a child's welfare; the physical or moral welfare of society.
2. welfare work.
3. financial or other assistance to an individual or family from a city, state, or national government: Thousands of jobless people in this city would starve if it weren't for welfare.
4. (initial capital letter) Informal. a governmental agency that provides funds and aid to people in need, esp. those unable to work.
5. on welfare, receiving financial aid from the government or from a private organization because of hardship and need.

Origin:
1275–1325; ME, from phrase wel fare. See well 1 , fare
wel·fare   (wěl'fâr')   
n.  
    1. Health, happiness, and good fortune; well-being.
    2. Prosperity.
    3. Financial or other aid provided, especially by the government, to people in need.
    4. Corporate welfare.
  1. Welfare work.
    1. Financial or other aid provided, especially by the government, to people in need.
    2. Corporate welfare.

[Middle English, from wel faren, to fare well, from Old English wel faran : wel, well; see well2 + faran, to get along; see fare.]

Welfare

Wel"fare`\, n. [Well + fare to go, to proceed, to happen.] Well-doing or well-being in any respect; the enjoyment of health and the common blessings of life; exemption from any evil or calamity; prosperity; happiness.

How to study for the people's welfare. --Shak.

In whose deep eyes Men read the welfare of the times to come. --Emerson.
Language Translation for : Welfare
Spanish: bienestar,
German: das Wohlergehen,
Japanese: 福利

welfare

Government-provided support for those unable to support themselves. In the United States, it is undertaken by various federal, state, and local agencies under the auspices of different programs, the best known of which are Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and food stamps.


welfare 
O.E. wel faran "condition of being or doing well," from wel (see well (adv.)) + faran "get along" (see fare (v.)). Cf. O.N. velferð. Meaning "social concern for the well-being of children, the unemployed, etc." is first attested 1904. Welfare state is recorded from 1941.
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