- pelf
- pelf late 14c., from Anglo-Fr. pelf, from O.Fr. pelfre "booty, spoils" (11c.), of unknown origin, related to PILFER (Cf. pilfer) (q.v.). Meaning "money, riches," with a pejorative overtone first recorded c.1500.
Etymology dictionary. 2014.
pelf
Look at other dictionaries:
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.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
pelf — [pelf] n. [ME, akin to (< ?) MFr pelfre, booty] 1. Obs. ill gotten gains; booty 2. money or wealth regarded with contempt … English World dictionary
pelf — /pelf/, n. money or wealth, esp. when regarded with contempt or acquired by reprehensible means. [1300 50; ME < OF pelfre booty] * * * … Universalium
pelf — n. money, riches, wealth (Slang) … English contemporary dictionary
pelf — n British money. An old term, like many others (rhino, spondulicks, etc.) revived in the money conscious environment of the later 1980s. Pelf is from the Middle Eng lish pelfre, related to pilfer and meaning loot. ► Miss Smith ... Cold as the Ice … Contemporary slang
pelf — /pɛlf/ (say pelf) noun money or riches: *When Barry went upon the land / He d small amount of pelf or backing, / He d but a stalwart frame, a brand, / And pluck – this last was never lacking. – jason , bush ballads, n.d. {Middle English, from Old …
pelf — noun money; riches; gain; especially when dishonestly acquired But, sighing after his fancies and visionary pursuits, he rebelled and fled fifty miles away for refuge from the lace caps and powdered wigs of his priggish sitters, and resumed his… … Wiktionary
pelf — noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo French pelfre booty Date: 14th century money, riches … New Collegiate Dictionary
PELF — pulse extremely low frequency … Medical dictionary
pelf — Synonyms and related words: affluence, and pence, assets, bottomless purse, bulging purse, capital gains, cash, circulating medium, cleanup, clear profit, coinage, coined liberty, cold cash, currency, debris, dividends, dollars, earnings, easy… … Moby Thesaurus
