English
wealth
Wealth comes from Middle English welth, from Old English *welþ, from Proto-West Germanic *waliþu, from *walō ‘well-being’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*walô‘wealth, well-being’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*walō‘wealth, well-being’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*waliþureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*welþreconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500welth‘happiness’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598wealth
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*walô‘wealth, well-being’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*walō‘wealth, well-being’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*waliþureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*welþreconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500welth‘happiness’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598wealth
Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “I once did lend my body for his wealth,…”
Formed from weal + -th
Proto-Germanic *walô ‘well-being, wellness, weal’
Proto-West Germanic *welō ‘property, wealth’
Old English wela ‘wellness, welfare, prosperity, riches,…’
Middle English wele ‘prosperity’
English weal
The story
Related also to German Wohl (‘welfare, well-being, weal’), Danish vel (‘weal, welfare’), Swedish väl (‘well-being, weal’).
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *walô
Today it means
noun Riches; a great amount of valuable assets or material possessions.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *walô / wealth