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Definition of pelf - 4 dictionary results
pelf
[pelf] 
–noun
| money or wealth, esp. when regarded with contempt or acquired by reprehensible means. |
Origin:
1300–50; ME < OF pelfre booty
1300–50; ME < OF pelfre booty
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To pelf
| pelf (pělf) n. Wealth or riches, especially when dishonestly acquired. [Middle English, from Medieval Latin pelfra, pelfa, probably from Old French pelfre.] |
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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Pelf
Pelf\, n. [OE. pelfir booty, OF. pelfre, akin to pelfrer to plunder, and perh. to E. pillage. Cf. Pilfer.] Money; riches; lucre; gain; -- generally conveying the idea of something ill-gotten or worthless. It has no plural. "Mucky pelf." --Spenser. "Paltry pelf." --Burke. Can their pelf prosper, not got by valor or industry? --Fuller.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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pelf
c.1375, from Anglo-Fr. pelf, from O.Fr. pelfre "booty, spoils" (11c.), of unknown origin, related to pilfer (q.v.). Meaning "money, riches," with a pejorative overtone first recorded c.1500.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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