Millionnaire

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who possesses a wealth of at least one million units of currency, often used to signify affluence and financial success
2. An individual whose net worth equals or exceeds one million dollars or its equivalent, typically implying a lifestyle of luxury
3. Someone recognized for having substantial financial resources amounting to at least a million in monetary value, associated with economic influence

Etymology: The spelling "millionnaire" is an older form of "millionaire," and it comes to English from French, where the same word was built from "million" and the suffix "-aire." That suffix, from Latin "-arius," marks a person connected with or characterised by something, so a "millionnaire" is literally someone tied to a million. The construction is plain and transparent: a large number, plus a suffix that turns it into a person-noun. The word's shape follows a familiar pattern in French, where "-aire" attached to nouns to form words for people such as "propriétaire" (owner) and "millionnaire" itself. English took the whole formation rather than building it fresh, so the word arrived already complete, carrying its French outline with it. The extra "n" in "millionnaire" is a visible trace of the French spelling, which the English form later shed. Other than that, the word has changed little in its passage across the Channel.

Synonyms: millionaire, tycoon, magnate, billionaire, wealthy person

Antonyms: pauper, pauper, poor person, beggar, impoverished