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affluent

 - 3 dictionary results

af⋅flu⋅ent

[af-loo-uhnt or, often, uh-floo-]
–adjective
1. having an abundance of wealth, property, or other material goods; prosperous; rich: an affluent person.
2. abounding in anything; abundant.
3. flowing freely: an affluent fountain.
–noun
4. a tributary stream.
5. an affluent person: a luxurious resort appealing to young affluents.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME < MF < L affluent- (s. of affluēns rich; orig. prp. of affluere), equiv. to af- af- + flu- flow + -ent -ent


af⋅flu⋅ent⋅ly, adverb


1. See rich. 2. teeming.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To affluent
af·flu·ent   (āf'lōō-ənt, ə-flōō'-)   
adj.  
  1. Generously supplied with money, property, or possessions; prosperous or rich. See Synonyms at rich.

  2. Plentiful; abundant.

  3. Flowing freely; copious.

n.  
  1. A stream or river that flows into a larger one; a tributary.

  2. A person who is well-off financially: "the so-called emerging affluents" (Leslie Tweeton).


[Middle English, abundant, flowing, from Old French, from Latin affluēns, affluent-, present participle of affluere, to abound in : ad-, ad- + fluere, to flow; see bhleu- in Indo-European roots.]
af'flu·ent·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

affluent 
1432, "flowing," from L. affluentem (nom. affluens), prp. of affluere "flow toward," from ad- "to" + fluere "to flow" (see fluent). Notion of "a plentiful flow" (of the gifts of fortune) led to affluence in the sense of "wealth," first recorded 1603.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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